Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier, which was deployed in the Mediterranean, to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to help "dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland."
Parnell wrote in a statement that the presence of the USS Gerald R. Ford in the region 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."
"These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs," he added.
Ford is currently in the Mediterranean and it could be a "good several days" before it arrives in the Southcom area, a defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NewsNation's Kellie Meyer on Friday.
Hegseth's order comes as the Trump administration has been striking alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela and in the Eastern Pacific, killing at least 43 people, which officials have said are "narco-terrorists."
On Thursday, two B-1 Lancer bombers departed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew near the coast of Venezuela, according to flight tracking data. Trump called the news reports about the presence of B-1 bombers "false," but added that "we're not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons. Drugs being one of them."
The latest strike, which Hegseth disclosed Friday morning, hit an alleged vessel affiliated with Tren de Aragua and killed all six individuals on board.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, which is based out of Norfolk, Va., and the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 12, was in Croatia earlier this week.
The strikes against boats are part of the Trump administration's effort to ramp up pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom U.S. officials say is an "illegitimate" leader."
The administration has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean, sending warships, at least one nuclear-powered submarine and having around 10,000 forces supporting counternarcotics operations. Trump confirmed earlier this month that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Read the full report at thehill.com.
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