With the world's largest aircraft carrier now in the northern Caribbean, "the table is being set" for possible military action against Venezuela, a US military official said. About 15,000 troops already are in the region, including 2,000 Marines on an amphibious assault ship. The official told NPR that the USS Gerald R. Ford's deployment could be taken as an attempt to ratchet up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whose own military is on high alert. And US Marines were beginning joint training exercises with forces from Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, per the Hill.
President Trump told reporters Friday that he has "sort of made up my mind" about whether to launch an attack on Venezuela but declined to elaborate, per NPR. "We made a lot of progress with Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs from pouring in," Trump said. The US has conducted 20 strikes on boats in the area, claiming they were used for drug trafficking, attacks that the Pentagon said have killed 80 people. The US announced the Ford's arrival on Sunday, per the AP. Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, commander of the carrier strike group, said it will bolster an already large force of American warships to "protect our nation's security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this week the start of "Operation Southern Spear," saying it aims to remove "narco-terrorists." In an address on Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro criticized the joint military drills, which are scheduled to run through Friday, as "irresponsible," per CNN. He also accused the US, which has offered a $50 million reward for his arrest, of pursuing a "criminal war."
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