Trump’s War Posture Toward Venezuela Escalates: USS Gerald Ford Deployed to Caribbean as Tensions Surge
By Chick Titus | CBB News
IWhat analysts are calling the most alarming U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean in decades, President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to waters just off the coast of Venezuela. The move marks a major escalation in what the administration describes as a “war on drug cartels,” though critics and former defense officials say it bears all the hallmarks of an undeclared war against the Venezuelan government.
The carrier’s arrival adds roughly 5,000 sailors to the 10,000 U.S. troops already stationed in the region, forming what military observers describe as the largest American naval presence in the Caribbean in modern history. According to sources inside the Pentagon, this deployment was personally authorized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the president’s direction.
When asked by reporters whether he intends to seek congressional approval for what increasingly appears to be an act of war, Trump brushed off constitutional concerns.
“Our sea drugs—what they call sea drugs—are about five percent of what they were a year ago,” he said. “Now they’re coming in by land, and that’s going to be next. We might go to Congress, but I can’t imagine they’d have any problem with it. What are they going to do—say they don’t want to stop drugs? I don’t see any reason not to.”
Pressed further on whether he plans to request a formal declaration of war, Trump replied bluntly:
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, okay? We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be dead.”
This statement, shocking even by Trump-era standards, underscores his apparent belief that executive power alone is sufficient to authorize lethal military action—without oversight or congressional consent.
The president’s “anti-cartel” campaign, originally launched under an executive order earlier this year, has now morphed into full-scale naval operations under what the administration has rebranded as the Department of War.
The Pentagon confirmed that ten “maritime strikes” have already been carried out in the Caribbean, each allegedly targeting vessels tied to drug trafficking. Traditionally, such missions would fall under the U.S. Coast Guard, which typically intercepts and arrests smugglers for prosecution. But under Trump’s new directive, the operations are conducted as military strikes, with boats destroyed outright and suspects often killed on sight.
In one recent incident, two survivors of a U.S. strike were neither detained nor prosecuted—they were simply released and sent back to their home countries, despite neither being Venezuelan nationals. Legal scholars have condemned the move as a blatant circumvention of U.S. and international law, noting that it effectively reduces justice to a binary choice: “go free or die.”
The Gerald R. Ford represents the pinnacle of U.S. naval engineering—housing FA-18 fighter jets, advanced missile defense systems, and even a nuclear-powered propulsion core. It is typically reserved for global power projection, not anti-drug operations.
Military analysts are baffled by its deployment, calling it “strategically excessive” for targeting small fishing boats allegedly smuggling narcotics. The former head of U.S. Special Operations Command described the buildup as “unprecedented—something we’ve never seen in this hemisphere before.”
This massive show of force, according to insiders, is not just about drug interdiction. Many believe the administration’s real target is Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose regime controls the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Trump’s rhetoric on Venezuela has long oscillated between hostility and open talk of regime change. Sources within the intelligence community have hinted at covert CIA operations aimed at destabilizing the Maduro government, though officials deny direct involvement.
Critics argue that the “war on cartels” narrative is a convenient pretext for what appears to be a strategic attempt to pressure or topple Caracas. They point out that the administration has not targeted other countries that also serve as major drug transit routes, such as Colombia or Mexico.
“Everyone knows Venezuela’s oil is the real issue here,” said one retired diplomat. “If this were just about drugs, we’d see coordinated operations across Latin America—not an aircraft carrier aimed squarely at Caracas.”
President Maduro, meanwhile, has mobilized millions of militia members and positioned Russian-made Igla surface-to-air missiles around key military and oil facilities. His government has accused Washington of planning an imminent invasion, citing the recent approach of U.S. B-52 and B-1B Lancer bombers near Venezuelan airspace.
State media in Caracas has portrayed the U.S. buildup as “imperialist aggression,” while Venezuelan citizens have begun forming defense units in anticipation of a potential strike.
“The Americans are looking for an excuse,” said one Venezuelan official. “They say it’s about drugs, but everyone can see this is about control—control of our resources and our sovereignty.”
Even some of Trump’s own military advisers are reportedly questioning the wisdom of stationing the U.S.’s most advanced carrier in a region where no immediate national security threat exists. Moving such a massive vessel across theaters can take weeks, meaning it may be unavailable if a crisis erupts elsewhere in the world.
Critics also note the absurdity of using a nuclear-powered supercarrier to target small drug boats. “It’s like using a sledgehammer to squash a mosquito,” one former naval strategist said. “It doesn’t make America look strong—it makes us look desperate.”
The parallels to the 2003 Iraq War are not lost on observers. Then, as now, a U.S. administration cited a moral or security justification to pursue what later proved to be a strategic blunder. In Iraq, “regime change for democracy” led to more than a million deaths and years of chaos.
Analysts fear a similar outcome if Washington pursues open confrontation with Venezuela—especially without congressional approval or international backing.
Trump’s decision to deploy the USS Gerald Ford to the Caribbean marks a turning point in U.S. foreign policy—one that could draw the country into yet another unnecessary and potentially disastrous conflict.
For all the talk of fighting cartels, the operation bears the unmistakable traits of a regime change campaign, masked behind the rhetoric of border security. And as Venezuela braces for what it perceives as an impending invasion, regional stability may soon hang by a thread.
If history is any guide, the costs—both human and geopolitical—could far outweigh whatever fleeting victory this administration claims.
CBB News | Independent Global Reporting
Follow Chick Titus for continuing coverage of U.S.–Venezuela tensions and unfolding developments in the Caribbean theater.
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