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US to send world's largest aircraft carrier to Latin America; Venezuela warns of dangerous prelude

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 25 October 2025 2:51 AM

The United States has decided to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, and five accompanying destroyers to Latin America, prompting Venezuela to condemn the pending provocation as reckless and unlawful.

The move, which marks one of the most aggressive American naval buildups in the hemisphere in decades, was announced by a Pentagon spokesperson on Friday.

The official claimed that the expanded US regional interference aimed to "detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities."

The decision has raised fears of an imminent attempt to destabilize or even invade Venezuela under fabricated pretexts.

Analysts and international observers have also cautioned that the scale of the deployment far exceeds anti-narcotics operations.

The Gerald Ford strike group will join some 6,000 US sailors and Marines already stationed aboard eight warships in the region, bringing total American military personnel in the area to more than 10,000.

The escalation follows Donald Trump's recent admission that he had authorized CIA operations inside Venezuela and was "mulling land attacks."

The US president has repeatedly made baseless accusations that President Nicolás Maduro's government was linked to criminal groups "invading" the US through drugs and immigration, allegations repeatedly dismissed by international agencies and even US intelligence assessments.

Since September, Washington has launched several strikes against civilian and fishing vessels in the Caribbean, alleging drug links without offering evidence.

According to United Nations officials and international law experts, these attacks violate both US and international law and constitute extrajudicial executions.

Venezuelan authorities have vowed to defend national sovereignty with full resolve.

"Interpret it however you want: the Armed Forces will not allow a government here that is subservient to the interests of the United States," said Foreign Minister Vladimir Padrino.

Calling the US deployment "the most significant military threat in the last 100 years," Padrino reaffirmed Caracas's commitment to peace and reiterated that Venezuela would not tolerate any aggression.