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An aircraft carrier strike group is being sent to Latin America, increasing military buildup in the region, the Pentagon announced on Friday.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has sent the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to the area in order to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” the White House said in a statement.
“These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle” transnational criminal organizations.
The USS Ford and its strike group had been deployed to the Mediterranean, meaning they will take days to relocate. The strike group’s precise location when it arrives was not disclosed.
The carrier recently took part in NATO exercises in the North Sea.
Earlier in the day, Secretary Hegseth announced a tenth strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. The strike left six dead, Hegseth reported.
Hegseth announced the strike on social media. He said Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang designated a foreign terrorist organization by President Trump, was the target.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth said in his post.
“Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”
Two recent strikes took place in the Pacific Ocean rather than the Caribbean, a clear sign that the scope of the military actions against suspected drug-runners is widening.
On Thursday, President Trump said he did not believe a declaration of war was necessary to pursue lethal strikes against organizations like Tren de Aragua.
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be, like, dead,” the President told reporters at a White House roundtable.
