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Venezuela - Order of Battle

The strike capabilities of the U.S. Navy and Air Force task forces deployed to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean for counter-drug operations extend far beyond maritime patrols , highlighting the potential for escalation of the conflict both with cartels professing ties to the Venezuelan government and directly with the Venezuelan armed forces. The naval task force consisted of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Jason Dunham , USS Gravely , and USS Sampson , the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie , the littoral combat ship Minneapolis-St. Paul , and the submarine USS Newport News (SSN-750).

The amphibious assault force was represented by the Iwo Jima Amphibious Group (ARG), which includes the amphibious assault ships USS Iwo Jima , USS San Antonio , and USS Fort Lauderdale, carrying 4,500 personnel from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Force . The group's aviation capabilities include AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft, AH-1Z , UH-1N, and CH-53 helicopters , and MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft . Surveillance and target designation are provided by P-8A Poseidon long-range patrol aircraft , presumably RQ-4B reconnaissance UAVs, and MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance and attack UAVs with GA-ASI electronic warfare systems . The latter are carrying out air strikes using AGM-114 Hellfire and GBU-12 Paveway II missiles against surface vessels involved in drug trafficking. The main base for the air group and ground forces is the former Naval Air Station Roosevelt Roads, where ten F-35B Lightning II fighters of the 3rd Marine Air Wing, equipped with AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, are stationed, and Rafael Hernandez International Airport, where at least six MQ-9 Reaper UAVs are stationed . Special operations forces units, including a probable JSOC presence, are present in Puerto Rico and on ships in the Caribbean.

As of October 31, there were reportedly 10,000 US troops and 6,000 sailors deployed to the Caribbean. However, the personnel count did not include forces stationed in Puerto Rico. The deployment numbers are based on the ships that the Pentagon has announced or acknowledged. Currently, eight US Navy warships and a nuclear-powered attack submarine are deployed to the Caribbean region. The deployment is expected to expand next week with the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.

In September and October, the US repeatedly used military force to destroy boats off the coast of Venezuela, claiming they were carrying drugs. Media reports indicate that Washington is considering strikes against suspected drug traffickers once they are inside Venezuela. Newsweek reported that the USS Iwo Jima assault vessel and its accompanying ships had been located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Venezuelan island of La Orchila, which puts them within range for possible military operations. An 03 October 2025, report from OSINTdefender (via the Washington Examiner) alleged that U.S. military planners believed forces assembled in Puerto Rico and the Southern Caribbean were sufficient to launch "territorial-seizure operations" against key Venezuelan facilities, such as ports and airfields.

The United States dispatched the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) region to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, coinciding with escalating tensions with Venezuela, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on 24 October 2025. "In support of the President [Trump]’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War [Pete Hegseth] has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility," Parnell said in a statement.

According to Parnell, the strike group will "bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland." The announcement came just one day after US President Donald Trump said that the United States is preparing for a ground operation against drug cartels in Venezuela. The reconnaissance component of the force deployed to the Caribbean will be further enhanced by reconnaissance aircraft from the Sierra Nevada Corporation, used under the ARES, ARTEMIS, and ATHENA programs for the DIA.

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and her Carrier Strike Group, consisting of the Arleigh Burke-Class Guided-Missile Destroyers; USS Mahan (DDG-72), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), and USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), were redirected from the Mediterranean Sea to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Area-of-Responsibility near Venezuela. The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group had only recently entered the Mediterranean. If the strike group travelled at best available speed, it could take from anywhere to 7 - 10 days, arriving around 01 November 2025. US Naval Institue reported 04 November 2025 that the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) sailed west through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean that morning local time, according to ship spotters and confirmed by a defense official. At best available speed of 30 knots, the Ford would transit the 3,600 nautical miles to Venezuelan waters in about 120 hours - five days - arriving around 09 November 2025.

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21), a Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), returned to Naval Station Mayport, concluding its maiden deployment to the U.S. Fourth Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR) 13 October 2025. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), returned to Naval Station Mayport in Florida 12 November 2025 after completing a 91-day surge deployment while assigned to Destroyer Squadron 40 (DESRON 40) in the U.S. Southern Command and Fourth Fleet Area-of-Responsibility.