The American aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, considered the newest and largest warship in the world, has been in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command covering Latin America and the Caribbean since yesterday.
The dispatch of Ford, announced by the US three weeks ago, marks a decisive escalation in the increasingly tense confrontation between Caracas and Washington. Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Ford’s arrival “will strengthen the United States’ ability to detect, monitor and disrupt illicit actors and activities” in the region.
“These forces will strengthen and expand existing capabilities to counter drug trafficking and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” he added. Donald Trump himself has justified the massive military build-up as part of his “war on drugs”, with the aim of targeting traffickers who smuggle drugs through Caribbean and Pacific waters.
But Venezuela accuses Washington of using drug trafficking as a pretext “to impose a regime change” in Caracas and get its hands on its oil. Before the Ford’s arrival, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced a “massive deployment” of land, naval, air, river and missile forces, as well as civilian militias, to counter the US naval presence off its coast.
According to Venezuelan media, the mobilization has already begun. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces, the Venezuelan conventional army, has around 123,000 personnel. Maduro has said his volunteer militias number more than 8 million reservists, although experts question such a high number, as well as the quality of the troops’ training.
The Ford carrier group brings with it nine air squadrons, two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan), the integrated air and missile defense command ship Winston Churchill, and more than 4,000 sailors. There are an estimated 15,000 U.S. military personnel in the region.
A significant percentage of all US naval assets were already in the region before Ford’s arrival: the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit were already in the area, with more than 4,500 Marines, three guided-missile destroyers, an attack submarine, a special operations ship, a guided-missile cruiser, and a P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
The United States also has deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, which has become a hub for the U.S. military amid a growing focus on the Caribbean. In addition to the vehicles, it is believed that there are approximately 5,000 soldiers present in Puerto Rico. This is the largest US military presence in the region in decades, probably the largest since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
In response to the American move, the United Kingdom and Colombia agreed to suspend intelligence sharing with US agencies. A firm condemnation of the American operations also came from France. The Russian Duma also “firmly” condemned the operations decided by Washington: “Washington’s aggressive and provocative actions against a sovereign state” like Venezuela, “contradict the universally accepted principles and norms of international law”, we read in a statement approved by Moscow’s deputies.