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USS Gerald R. Ford Exits Mediterranean, Heads to Caribbean for Counternarcotics Mission

The redeployment signals an expanded counternarcotics campaign marked by lethal boat strikes that face mounting legal scrutiny.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the Strait of Gibraltar, Oct 1, 2025.
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A North American Aerospace Defense Command F-35 Lightning II aircraft with the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing, in-flight over Greenland Oct. 9, 2025.
The world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Adriatic Sea, June 23, 2023. Gerald R. Ford is the U.S. Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, representing a generational leap in the U.S. Navy's capacity to project power on a global scale.

Overview

  • USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Bainbridge transited the Strait of Gibraltar on Nov. 4 and entered the Atlantic en route to the U.S. Southern Command area, according to ship-spotters and a defense official.
  • The carrier will reinforce a regional surge that already features the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, several destroyers, a cruiser, an LCS, logistics ships, a submarine, P-8 patrol aircraft, MQ-9 drones, and an F-35 squadron operating from Puerto Rico.
  • The shift could place nearly 20% of deployed U.S. warships in Latin America and currently leaves Europe and the Middle East without a U.S. aircraft carrier on station.
  • U.S. forces have carried out at least 16 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels since Sept. 1, with 66 reported dead, including two killed in an eastern Pacific strike announced Tuesday.
  • The Pentagon says the move will enhance detection and disruption of transnational criminal organizations, while U.N. officials and members of Congress question the legal basis for the lethal campaign.