Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States of “manufacturing a new war” following Washington’s decision to deploy the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, capable of carrying up to 90 aircraft, represents a significant escalation of U.S. military presence in the region.
According to American officials, the move is part of an ongoing campaign against drug trafficking networks. The U.S. military has reportedly carried out ten unauthorized airstrikes on vessels in the area, actions it claims target drug smugglers.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly branded Maduro as the head of a narcotics trafficking operation — an accusation the Venezuelan leader firmly denies. Many in Caracas, however, view the increased U.S. military buildup as a pretext for removing Maduro, a long-time adversary of Trump, from power.
Washington does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president, citing the 2024 elections as fraudulent — a stance shared by much of the international community and the Venezuelan opposition, who dismissed the vote as neither free nor fair.
Despite the U.S. justification, Venezuela plays only a minor role in Latin America’s drug trade.
In its statement on Friday, the Pentagon announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford would operate under the U.S. Southern Command, whose jurisdiction spans Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the deployment would “strengthen and expand existing capabilities to disrupt drug trafficking and dismantle transnational criminal networks.”
Responding to the announcement, Maduro accused Washington of hypocrisy and warmongering.
“They said they would never again involve themselves in another war,” he told state media. “Now they are inventing one.”
Analysts say the carrier’s arrival gives the U.S. the firepower to launch potential strikes against land-based targets — a move that would mark a sharp escalation.
Trump, for his part, has hinted at such action. “We are certainly looking at land now, because we already have control of the sea,” he said earlier this week.
