WASHINGTON - The United States is sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying fleet to the Caribbean Sea as part of a new effort to combat drug trafficking in the region, the Pentagon announced on Friday. The move marks a significant increase in U.S. military presence in the area.

“The enhanced presence increases the U.S. capability to detect, monitor, and disrupt illegal activities and actors that threaten U.S. security,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement.

The Pentagon did not disclose the exact timeline for when the carrier group will sail toward the Caribbean.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, will operate alongside a support fleet of destroyers and surveillance aircraft, expanding maritime patrol and interception capabilities across key drug-smuggling routes in the Caribbean Basin.

Defense analysts say the deployment underscores Washington’s renewed strategic focus on the Western Hemisphere, where transnational criminal networks and regional instability—including tensions involving Venezuela—have drawn increased U.S. attention.

While the operation is officially framed as part of ongoing anti-narcotics efforts, regional observers note that it also demonstrates a broader show of force at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions in the Caribbean.