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USS Gerald Ford Moves to SOUTHCOM to Join US' Growing Buildup in Region - Fleet

Sputnik News

20251111

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford has been moved from the Mediterranean to join the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) amid tensions around drug trafficking in the Caribbean, the SOUTHCOM said on Tuesday.

In late October, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced that the US had dispatched the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Southern Command region to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

"The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, led by the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, entered the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility (USSOUTHCOM AOR) [on] Nov. 11. The maritime forces' arrival comes after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed the Carrier Strike Group to support the President's directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland," the fleet said in a statement.

The arrival of the ship, manned by over 4,000 sailors and with dozens of tactical aircraft aboard, is set to enable US civilian and military leadership "to project power through sustained operations at sea," the statement read.

"The carrier strike group will augment joint forces already in the area of responsibility, including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and embarked marine expeditionary unit, under a Joint Task Force, created to defeat and dismantle criminal networks that exploit our shared borders and maritime domains," it added.

The carrier, its air wing, and its escorts were ordered to redeploy to support the growing US military buildupin the area in late October, according to the report. It passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on November 4 and has been stationed off the western coast of Africa, a few miles west of Cape Verde.

Witnesses told the news portal that Gerald Ford is joined by USS Bainbridge as an escort.

In recent months, the Pentagon has been increasing the number of naval, air, and land assets deployed throughout the Caribbean, in the US Southern Command area of authority. The deployment is part of a major operation allegedly targeting counternarcotics and counterterrorism, according to Washington.

Since early September, US President Donald Trump has authorized a number of strikes targeting alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. As of November 10, the strikes have destroyed some 20 vessels and left at least 75 dead.

© Sputnik