The Pentagon announced Friday it will send a carrier to waters off South America.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy.
He assigned the strike group to US Southern Command to boost detection and disruption.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted the deployment on social media.
The Gerald R. Ford sails with five destroyers in its strike group.
The carrier currently operates in the Mediterranean Sea.
Sending a carrier escalates military power in an already tense region.
US forces already maintain an unusually large buildup in the Caribbean and near Venezuela.
Drug Raids Accelerate as Officials Target Tren de Aragua
Hegseth announced the military carried out its tenth strike on a suspected drug boat.
The latest strike killed six people and raised the campaign toll to at least 43.
He said the targeted vessel belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang.
The Trump administration has linked some operations to that Venezuelan prison-origin gang.
Hegseth said the strike happened in international waters and occurred at night.
He vowed to hunt and kill narco-terrorists who smuggle drugs into the hemisphere.
He said the military would map networks and track suspects day and night.
Officials claimed at least four of the struck boats originated from Venezuela.
The administration designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organisation.
The strikes intensified from sporadic actions to several attacks this week.
Observers warned the campaign could aim to destabilise Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Regional Responses, Military Signalling, and Legal Claims
The US flew hypersonic heavy bombers close to Venezuela’s coast this week.
Trump’s team insists it targets drug trafficking into the United States.
Maduro said the operations aim to force him from power.
He praised security forces and a civilian militia for coastal defence exercises.
Maduro said troops covered about 2,000 kilometres of coastline in real time.
He repeated calls for peace while mocking US threats.
Analyst Elizabeth Dickinson argued Washington uses drugs as a pretext.
She said regional capitals hear a clear message from US military moves.
She warned the US will use force against leaders who resist its objectives.
Hegseth compared the campaign to America’s post-9/11 war on terror.
Trump previously called cartels unlawful combatants and claimed an armed conflict.
Reporters asked whether he would seek a congressional declaration of war.
He said he planned to kill people who bring drugs into the country.
He added that traffickers would be killed if they threatened US security.
