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Tensions Escalate/ US Aircraft Carrier Arrives Off Coast of Venezuela

2025-11-12 07:48:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Tensions between the US and Venezuela are escalating, as war scenarios intensify following the presence of the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in Latin American waters.

In a statement to the Washington Post, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: “These forces will reinforce and enhance existing capabilities to disrupt drug trafficking and degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”

However, Mark Kansian, a senior defense adviser, said the move reinforces suspicions of a potential rift between the two countries, as he says the only reason they are moving it there is to use it against Venezuela.

The Pentagon announced on October 24 that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the Ford to be moved from Europe, noting that the Ford's arrival brings the number of US warships in the region to more than 12, a "stunning military presence" for a region that has historically seen only one or two Navy ships assist the US Coast Guard in routine drug interdiction missions.

Recently, President Trump has taken the hunt for drug traffickers to the next level, as there have already been 19 attacks by the US Navy on ships and speedboats transporting drugs in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The 47th US president-elect has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of sending drugs and criminals to American shores. There are doubts that Trump will seek the violent removal of Maduro from power, as he has stated in the past that "his days are numbered".

For its part, Venezuela is developing weapons systems, including those manufactured in Russia, that are several decades old, while planning a "guerrilla"-style resistance to sow chaos in the event of a US air or ground attack on its territory. /CNA