WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s decision Relocating Japan’s most advanced aircraft carrier He traveled to South America on a campaign against drug cartels, and during this time he pulled his ship out of the Mediterranean Sea. Tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Gaza is under threat of new attacks.
The United States would be in the rather unusual position of having only one aircraft carrier and no aircraft carriers deployed in both European and Middle Eastern waters. The changes after that are especially noticeable. US participates in Israel’s attack on Iran got engaged in June in some of the most intense combat operations After World War II, it fought against Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Aircraft carriers, carrying thousands of sailors and dozens of fighter jets, have long been recognized as one of the ultimate symbols of U.S. military power and U.S. foreign policy priorities. There were five. Aircraft carrier deployment to the Middle East Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Two carriers at multiple locations within the region Both this year and last year.
The new order for the USS Gerald R. Ford signals the Trump administration’s growing interest in the Western Hemisphere and represents a significant increase in U.S. military firepower. Step up lethal attacks on suspected drug smuggling vessels. There is already a buildup of warships, aircraft and troops in the region, and President Trump himself has hinted at what could happen next.
He spoke from the USS George Washington, another aircraft carrier in his home port in Japan. President Trump pointed out The United States reiterated that it would attack by sea and “next time stop the influx of drugs by land.”
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine Corps colonel, questioned how long Ford could remain in South America, when typically only three of the 11 U.S. carriers are at sea.
“This is a very powerful and rare resource, so there’s going to be a lot of pressure to do something with it or send it elsewhere,” Cancian said. “You can imagine the collapse of peace talks in the eastern Mediterranean and something happening with Iran.”
The USS Nimitz is also deployed, but returned to the West Coast from the South China Sea before being decommissioned. that We recently lost two aircraft. A fighter jet and a helicopter crashed separately and are currently under investigation. A third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is not deployed but is conducting exercises off the coast of San Diego.
The change comes as violence is escalating again in the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire that President Trump helped broker after two years of war. israeli army launched a concentrated attack Tensions with Hamas escalate Tuesday, two weeks after a fragile ceasefire.
Carrier moves increase pressure on Venezuela
Meanwhile, an expanded U.S. military presence near Venezuela and 13 fatal attacks on suspected drug smuggling vessels have fueled President Trump’s concerns. may try to defeat authoritarian President Nicolas Maduroperson facing Drug terrorism charges in the US
Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to a question about speculation. claimed on Saturday U.S. participation in counter-drug operations. He once again accused the Maduro regime of being involved in the transportation of drugs.
“This is a very serious problem for the hemisphere, a very destabilizing problem,” Rubio said. “And that has to be addressed.”
maduro said on a recent national broadcast. That the Trump administration is fabricating a war against him.
“They are fabricating an extravagant story, a story that is vile, criminal and completely false,” President Maduro added. “Venezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves.”
Experts say US forces in the region are not large enough to invade. But they could help oust Mr. Maduro and, in turn, plunge the country into chaos.
“The potential for violence and instability is very high,” said Jeff Ramsey, an expert on U.S. policy toward Venezuela and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. If President Maduro loses power, he said, Venezuela “could develop into a Libya-like meltdown that could last several years.”
Ground attack is a ‘realistic possibility’
The Ford Strike Group, which includes five destroyers, will strengthen the U.S. military’s unprecedented military buildup in the waters off Venezuela. The Navy already has eight warships in the region. 3 destroyersthree amphibious assault ships, one cruiser, and one small littoral combat ship designed for coastal waters. It was unclear whether all five destroyers in the Ford Strike Group would make the voyage.
U.S. Navy submarines also operate across a large area of South America and are capable of firing cruise missiles. The US military also sent a squadron of F-35B Lightning II fighter jets. To the runway in Puerto Rico And it recently flew a pair of supersonic heavy bombers to the coast of Venezuela.
The regime said the military had killed at least 57 people in airstrikes against ships suspected of transporting drugs. Mr Trump is Drug cartels declared illegal combatants He said it was because drugs were coming into the country and that the United States was in an “armed conflict” with them, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration after 9/11.
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concern that President Trump has not cleared Congress to release details of the attack. Trump allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham believe the president has all the powers he needs.
A South Carolina Republican lawmaker said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that a ground attack in Venezuela is a “real possibility.”
“We’re not going to stand by and watch ships full of drugs come into our country,” Graham said. “We’re going to blow them up and kill those who are trying to poison America. And now we’re going to expand our operations to the ground.”
