USS Gerald Ford Deployed to Caribbean Amid Venezuela Tensions

The USS Gerald Ford, the most advanced U.S. aircraft carrier, has arrived in the Caribbean Sea as part of what the Trump administration describes as an anti-drug operation. The deployment represents a significant increase in U.S. military presence in the region, bringing the total force to approximately 12,000 troops on nearly a dozen Navy vessels under what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has termed Operation Southern Spear. The carrier strike group includes fighter jet squadrons and guided-missile destroyers that transited near the British Virgin Islands on Sunday.