Overview
- The carrier group transited the Anegada Passage on November 16 and entered SOUTHCOM’s area by order of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to support President Trump’s directive against transnational criminal organizations and so‑called drug terrorism.
- The force package includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a fighter squadron, guided‑missile destroyers USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, and the command and air‑defense ship USS Winston S. Churchill.
- Upon arrival, the strike group joined U.S. assets already in the Caribbean, including USS Gravely, the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and a Marine expeditionary unit operating under Joint Task Force Southern spear.
- Admiral Alvin Holsey called the move a critical step to protect Western Hemisphere security and safeguard the U.S. homeland.
- U.S. officials describe the Gerald R. Ford as the world’s largest and most advanced carrier, and the operation unfolds as Washington continues to accuse Venezuela’s leadership of enabling drug trafficking.