The US Navy confirmed that the US Navy strike force led by the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest warship, has arrived in the Caribbean.
The arrival of the strike force, which President Donald Trump ordered to be sent to the region last month, comes amid strikes over alleged drug boats and ongoing tensions with Venezuela.
The United States has so far attacked ships at least 19 times in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 76 people.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other Venezuelan officials have accused the United States of manipulating the crisis and trying to topple Venezuela’s left-wing socialist government.
The U.S. Navy said in a statement that the strike group entered the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, which oversees Latin America and the Caribbean, on Nov. 11.
The force includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, which has more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of aircraft. The strike force also includes guided missile destroyers and various other ships.
“This unit will strengthen America’s ability to detect, monitor, and deter illicit actors and activities that impede America’s security and prosperity,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. “It will help deter drug trafficking and local criminal groups.”
The carrier group joins a significant force already deployed in the region, including thousands of troops based in Puerto Rico, nuclear-powered submarines and military aircraft.
Collectively, they form the largest U.S. military presence arrayed in and around Latin America in decades.
The United States continues to launch strikes against alleged drug boats in the region. The Trump administration said the attack was necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
Earlier this week, the United States announced two additional attacks in the Pacific that killed six people.
The boat strike has heightened tensions between the Colombian and Venezuelan governments, with some observers expressing concerns about human rights abuses and due process.
In early November, Trump downplayed suggestions that he was planning to topple the Venezuelan government or start a war.
“Every boat you see shot down, 25,000 people killed and families destroyed across our country because of drugs,” Trump said in an interview with the BBC’s US news partner CBS.
Asked whether the United States was planning an attack on land, Trump said: “I don’t want to say I’m going to do that. I’m not going to say what I’m going to do, whether I’m going to do it or not, about Venezuela.”
