Kayla Epstein and
Josh Cheetham,BBC Verify
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has claimed that the US is “manufacturing a war” after dispatching the largest warship in the world to the Caribbean, marking a significant increase in its military presence in the area.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, which can accommodate up to 90 aircraft, to depart from the Mediterranean on Friday.
“They are creating a new perpetual war,” Maduro stated to state media. “They assured that they would never intervene in a war again, yet they are fabricating one.”
The United States has been ramping up its military activities in the Caribbean, deploying warships, a nuclear submarine, and F-35 aircraft, claiming it is a strategy to combat drug trafficking.
Additionally, it has conducted ten airstrikes on vessels it alleges are linked to traffickers, including one on Friday in which Hegseth reported the deaths of “six male narco-terrorists”.
That action occurred in the Caribbean Sea, targeting a ship identified by Hegseth as belonging to the Tren de Aragua criminal group.
These strikes have faced backlash in the area, with experts questioning their legality.
The Trump administration asserts it is engaged in a war on drug trafficking, but both experts and congressional members have accused it of initiating an intimidation campaign aimed at undermining Maduro’s regime.
Maduro has long been an adversary of Trump, and the US president has labeled him as the head of a drug trafficking organization, a claim Maduro refutes.
Dr. Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, informed the BBC, “This is fundamentally about regime change. An invasion is not likely; the aim is likely to send a message.”
He suggested the military escalation is designed to “instill fear” among the Venezuelan military and Maduro’s close advisers to incite actions against him.
In an announcement on Friday, the Pentagon stated that the USS Gerald R Ford carrier would be heading to the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command, which encompasses Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
The reinforcements “will bolster and enhance current capabilities to disrupt narcotic trafficking and dismantle TCOs,” or transnational criminal organizations, spokesman Sean Parnell mentioned.
The carrier’s assignment would equip it to commence strikes on ground targets. Trump has frequently mentioned the possibility of “land action” in Venezuela.
“We are certainly considering land now, since we have the sea very well under control,” he stated earlier this week.
This comes as CNN reports that Trump is contemplating targeting cocaine production facilities and trafficking routes within Venezuela, though a final decision has yet to be reached.
The aircraft carrier last reported its location three days ago near the coast of Croatia, in the Adriatic Sea.
Its deployment represents a notable intensification of the US military presence in the region and is likely to further heighten tensions with Venezuela, whose government has faced long-standing accusations from Washington of sheltering drug traffickers.
The carrier’s substantial aircraft capacity allows for jets and planes designated for transportation and reconnaissance. Its initial long-term mission was executed in 2023.
It’s uncertain which vessels will accompany it as it moves to the region, but it can operate within a strike group that includes destroyers equipped with missiles and additional gear.
The US has executed several strikes on vessels in recent weeks, in what President Donald Trump describes as an initiative to mitigate drug trafficking.
Pete Hegseth on XThe strike announced on Friday was the tenth that the Trump administration has conducted against suspected drug traffickers since early September. Most of these actions have occurred off the coast of South America, in the Caribbean, although strikes were also carried out in the Pacific Ocean on October 21 and 22.
Concerns regarding the legality of these strikes and the authority of the president to initiate them have been raised by members of Congress from both parties.
On September 10, 25 Democratic senators addressed a letter to the White House, claiming the administration targeted a vessel days prior “without evidence that those on board and the vessel’s cargo posed a risk to the United States”.
Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky has contended that such military actions require congressional consent.
Trump asserted his legal right to authorize these strikes and has classified Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization.
“We’re permitted to proceed, and if we opt to do [it] via land, we may return to Congress,” Trump mentioned to White House reporters on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio added, “If people wish to avoid seeing drug boats destroyed, they should cease sending drugs to the United States.”
The six fatalities in the operation Hegseth reported on Friday raises the total death toll from US strikes to at least 43.
Brian Finucane, a former attorney at the US State Department, informed the BBC that this situation reflects a constitutional crisis that the Republican-controlled Congress appears reluctant to confront Trump over.
“The US is facing an Article 1 crisis,” indicated Mr. Finucane, who is now affiliated with the International Crisis Group. “Congress is meant to have primary control over military force usage. This authority has been seized in this case by the White House, and it is Congress’s responsibility to respond.”
