Overview
- The carrier strike group entered the Caribbean on Tuesday with a stated mission to disrupt narcotics trafficking and target transnational criminal organizations, according to U.S. officials.
- Venezuela announced a massive mobilization and placed its forces on full operational readiness in response to the U.S. buildup.
- The Navy says the Ford group will support ongoing lethal operations against suspected drug-smuggling boats, while the administration has told Congress it lacks a legal basis for strikes inside Venezuela even as options are evaluated.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the redeployment from Europe, and the group brings nine air squadrons plus destroyers and the USS Winston S. Churchill for integrated air and missile defense.
- Experts warn the expanded U.S. presence and Venezuela’s mobilization heighten the risk of miscalculation, and they note any bid for regime change would likely require ground forces.