The Trump administration has issued orders for the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to be deployed in the Western Hemisphere. This move is part of the ongoing U.S. efforts to crack down on suspected drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean.

According to a statement from chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, “In line with the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and counter narco-terrorism, the Secretary of War has dispatched the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group along with its carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.”

Parnell further elaborated, “Increasing the U.S. military presence in the USSOUTHCOM area will enhance the U.S.’s ability to detect, monitor, and disrupt illegal activities that threaten the safety and prosperity of the U.S. homeland and security in the Western Hemisphere. These forces will strengthen existing capabilities aimed at thwarting narcotics trafficking and dismantling TCOs.”

The USS Gerald R. Ford, renowned as the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was recently sighted in the North Sea during the NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise. The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group has been instructed to move to the USSOUTHCOM area.

The U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility encompasses Latin America south of Mexico, the surrounding waters of Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.

Accompanying the USS Gerald R. Ford are several Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, namely the USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill, and USS Bainbridge, as part of the strike group.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is currently deployed to the Mediterranean Sea along with three destroyers. It would likely take several days for the ships to make the journey to South America. In August, the strike group transited the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel. 

The deployment would mean there will be no U.S. aircraft carriers in the Middle East for the first time in years. 

The Trump administration has ordered a number of strikes in the Caribbean aimed at dismantling and disrupting drug cartels in the region. 

Most recently, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that a strike on a vessel allegedly operated by suspected members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan street gang deemed a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), killed six alleged narco-terrorists.

U.S. strikes on drug boats near Venezuelan waters may be targeted at taking out Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. (@realDonald Trump/Truth Social; Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat al-Qaeda,” Hegseth wrote on X. “Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.” 

It marked the 10th strike targeting suspected drug trafficking boats since Trump returned to office. The president has made combating the nation’s drug crisis a central policy focus.

Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of being a drug cartel leader as he continues to increase pressure on the Maduro regime.

Last week, Trump confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, saying he did so because the South American nation has released prisoners into the U.S. and that drugs were coming into the U.S. from Venezuela through sea routes. 

Meanwhile, the military strikes have attracted scrutiny from both sides of the aisle as questions swirl about their legality. 

Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit U.S. armed forces from participating in “hostilities” against Venezuela.