The United States sends a strike group with the newest and largest aircraft carrier to Latin America

The United States has sent an aircraft carrier strike group led by its most modern and largest ship of this type, the Gerald R. Ford to Latin America in support of the president Donald Trump's directive on the elimination of transnational criminal organizations and the fight against drug terrorism. This decision of the secretary of war Pete Hegseth in the evening of October 24 reported pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

According to him, the aircraft carrier group was sent to the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command, which operates in Central and South America.

The increased presence of U.S. troops "will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," Parnell explained.

The official added that these forces will strengthen and expand the current capabilities to counter drug trafficking and weaken and eliminate international criminal groups.

So far, the Trump administration's military operation in the region has killed 43 people in 10 strikes on small boats that officials say were transporting drugs. The US president has threatened to expand the effort to include ground attacks, but noted that this may require congressional approval, reports Bloomberg.

According to photos released by the US military, in early October, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford was in the Mediterranean Sea in early October. On October 21, the Croatian government welcomed the ship in Split.

The Pentagon declined to comment further on Trump's directive. The strike group sent includes the Ford, the newest and largest US aircraft carrier, the USS Winston Churchill missile destroyer, and military aircraft.

Upon arrival in Latin America, this group will join the U.S. military buildup, raising fears of a widening conflict. The US administration has also deployed missile destroyers as part of the border security operation, in addition to the aircraft used in the strikes. In addition, the US president confirmed earlier that he had authorized covert operations by the Central Intelligence Agency in Venezuela.

Earlier, on October 24, the Pentagon chief announced that US forces had killed six people in the latest attack on a ship suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean.

The day before, Trump indicated that the US military campaign would soon expand to targets inside Venezuela itself. These strikes will be a significant escalation of the conflict with the country, which pro-Russian dictator, Nicolás Maduro, accused Washington of plotting to overthrow his government.

Although the US continues to attack ships carrying drugs, critics question the legal validity of this approach, arguing that suspects should be arrested and tried, not executed without trial, the media notes.

The White House argues that the US is fighting a "non-international armed conflict" against criminal groups and that the use of lethal force is justified. An attempt to force the administration to end the campaign before Congress approves military action failed in the Senate.

According to an analysis by Bloomberg Economics, the strikes, combined with the build-up of the US military presence and the US president's approval of the CIA's activities in Venezuela, are "are part domestic political signal and part pressure campaign against the Venezuelan regime and other governments the Trump administration opposes."

"Escalation, including limited military strikes in Venezuelan territory, is possible, but a major US military or paramilitary operation is unlikely," the media unit said.

• On October 23, the US military sent to the coast of Venezuela two supersonic heavy bombers, a little more than a week after another group of aircraft made a similar flight as part of a simulated attack exercise.
• The next day, the United States imposed sanctions on Colombian president Petro as Trump sharply escalated the conflict with the country over allegations that its head refused to stop the flow of cocaine to the United States.