The Pentagon on Friday ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to counter drug-trafficking organisations in Latin America. The move marks a major escalation, casting a long shadow over regional stability, which Venezuela’s leader called “fabricating a war.” President Donald Trump, who pledged to end foreign interventions, has authorised strikes on boats allegedly used to smuggle narcotics.
The campaign destroyed at least ten vessels in early September, and Washington says it targets transnational criminal networks. The Pentagon named the USS Gerald R. Ford among ships sent to “enhance and augment” capabilities against transnational criminal organisations.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said an overnight strike on a boat tied to Tren de Aragua killed six people. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the carrier will help disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade transnational criminal organisations.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of stoking “a new eternal war” and warned of imperial designs in the hemisphere. The campaign has raised regional tensions, drawing criticism from Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, who was sanctioned by Washington on Friday.
Brazil cautioned that outside intervention would inflame South America and risk radicalising politics across the continent, a senior adviser said. Mr Trump warned strikes on land could follow, vowing to treat narco-terrorists with the same resolve used against global threats.