The USS Gerald R. Ford was sent to the Caribbean on an unprecedented drug mission
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President Donald Trump is ordering the USS Gerald R. Ford Airlift Carrier to head to the Caribbean as it begins transporting drugs — marking the first time an aircraft carrier has brought the operation to the region in more than 30 years.
Trump has built up naval assets in the region since attacks on suspected submarines loomed in September, but sending an aircraft carrier is an unprecedented move. A war like Ford has not participated in military operations in the region since 1994, when two carriers were sent to respond to political operations in Haiti (Southcom) records shared by FOX News Digital.
Ford’s move comes as Trump has signaled that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro may not be in office for long. The Trump administration has carried out 15 strikes in the Caribbean, and lawmakers have raised concerns about their legislation and the broader conflict in the region.
During his tenure he supported democracy, flying aircraft carriers Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS America to the region, after the military coup in 1991 that ousted the first free president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The Trump Administration sent the USS Gerald R. Ford to head the US Southern Command, prompting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to accuse Trump of ‘inventing a perpetual war.’ (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images;
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In July 1994, the United Nations called for a resolution authorizing the use of the military to restore democracy in Haiti, where a military regime designed to repress is operating, according to the State Department’s office.
Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton has reason to intervene, involving about 25,000 US troops, as it is necessary to remove the CEDRAS regime after recruiting “permanently.”
Clinton said in a radio segment on September 17, 1994, that the CEDRAS regime had two options: either leave peacefully or be expelled by force.
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“The question that remains is not if they will go but how they will go,” Clinton said, talking about a peaceful future and bringing up all those democrats who are close to doing it. “
In addition to the military, Clinton announced that former President Jimmy Carter, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell and After that-Chairman of the Senate Services Committee Senate Hersment Services Sen. Sam Nunn, D-GA.
US forces first arrived in Haiti on September 19, 2024, while the talks of respect between the US delegation and the Cedras regime continued, eventually encouraging the Cedras regime to remove power.
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Since the operation supports democracy, the carriers have sailed in the waters of the South and South for several exercises and humanitarian efforts. For example, the USS George Washington Washington completed in the region as part of the southern ocean 2024 The deployment that aims to provide Maritime relations with the home change as part of the change of home forces, Virginia, to Yokosuka, Japan.
The manager participated in these tests in 2008 and 2015 with domestic changes between the east coast and Japan. In total, there have been 10 Southern Seas missions since 2007, according to Southcom.
Additionally, the Earlier Carriers USS Harl Vinson also assisted with relief efforts in 2010 after Haiti suffered a massive earthquake as part of the coordinated response, according to Naval History.
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A suspected drug smuggling vessel is shown moments before it was destroyed in a US Oct. 21, 2025. (X.com/secwar)
Meanwhile, Trump is ramping up a crackdown on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean — 15 strikes since it began in September — raising concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about whether they are legal. For example, feeling. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-KY.
“The Trump administration has made it clear that they can begin military operations within the borders of Venezuela and they will not stop on a boat in the Caribbean,” Schiff said in a statement on Oct. 17.
However, Sen. Lindoy Graham, Rs.C., said Oct. 26 The Trump administration needs the authority to manage these events, and that Trump has decided to “get Maduro to go.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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The Trump administration also said it does not show Maduro as the legitimate head of state, and that he is the leader of a drug cartel. Similarly, the Trump administration raised the reward leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million in August, saying he is “one of the biggest traffickers in the world.”
After the Trump administration announced that Ford would enter Southcom’s territory, Maduro accused Trump of ‘inventing a new eternal war.’
“They promised not to participate in the war again, and they called the war,” Maduro said in a national broadcast on Oct. 24.
Meanwhile, Trump said on Sunday in an interview with CBS’ “60 minutes” that although he does not expect a war with Venezuela, he believes that Maduro’s days are limited when he was asked about ordering a carrier in the region.
The delivery of the USS Ford comes as Trump has signaled that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro may not be in office for long. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
Ford could be the Navy’s new carrier, but it has been quick to respond to several key conflicts since the full-scale deployment in 2023.
While in the Caribbean, Ford is expected to conduct ground strike operations, and provide close air support to special operations forces, according to experts.
“I think Ford will be doing strike operations against narcotics trafficking and producing maritime sites and funding for the Hudson Institute Chinant for Defense Concepts for defense.
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Brent Sadler, a senior fellow in naval warfare and advanced technology at the Weritage Foundation, is a conservative Calk tank in Washington, so the transfer of the carrier company wants to put more pressure on Venezuela, so Caracas does not retaliate following US military strikes in the region.
“The arrival of Ford in the South-Southcom area is unprecedented but given the ongoing attacks on CartLel boats it is important. I see this as intending to add abuse to the boxes,” said Sastler in an email to Fox News Digital on Monday. “That being said, I expected Ford’s Air Wing to be very active in air defense and defense.”
