Hegseth diverts Navy carrier strike group to Caribbean drug war

Significant additional firepower is being deployed to support President Donald Trump’s new war on drugs.

The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, led by the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, and its embarked air wing will be diverted from the Mediterranean to the U.S. Southern Command area of ​​responsibility, according to a statement released Friday by the Pentagon. The move marks a notable expansion of U.S. military forces in the region.

SOUTHCOM’s area of ​​responsibility covers Central and South America, the Caribbean, and surrounding waters.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive aligns with President Donald Trump’s goal to “dismantle” criminal organizations and “fight narcoterrorism in defense of the homeland,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

A carrier strike group brings significantly more firepower and capabilities to any potential fight than the amphibious strike group already in the area. The current presence of U.S. forces in the region is unusual for the counternarcotics mission.

The Ford and the strike group’s other warships will join more than a half-dozen other U.S. warships en route to the Caribbean in recent months, including the three-ship Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which includes Marines trained in contingency combat operations.

“The enhanced presence of U.S. forces in the USSOUTHCOM (area of ​​responsibility) will strengthen the United States’ ability to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that undermine the security and prosperity of the United States homeland as well as our security in the Western Hemisphere,” the Pentagon statement said.

Prior to the release of the statement, SOUTHCOM shared the following video of recent activities in its area of ​​operations.

The Ford departed in January for deployment to the 6th Fleet region, which includes Europe and North Africa.

This advanced carrier, loaded with many new technologies, was commissioned in July 2017 and cost a whopping $13 billion. It is the world’s largest aircraft carrier, capable of carrying 75 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, early warning aircraft and helicopters for various combat missions.

Escort ships, often destroyers, are capable of launching offensive and defensive missiles.

Beyond warship activity in the SOUTHCOM area of ​​operations, thousands of troops, advanced F-35 stealth fighters, and U.S. bombers have also been active in the region, not only as part of efforts to crack down on drug trafficking, but also amid growing tensions with Venezuela, known as a source of illegal narcotics.

American forces struck at least ten targets since September and killed at least 43 peoplewhich administration officials say is part of reducing the flow of drugs into the United States. Eight strikes took place in the Caribbean. This week, American forces struck two targets in the Pacific.

The Trump administration designated drug cartels as transnational criminal organizations earlier this year, a significant delineation that frees up special legal authorities and eliminates due process for suspected fighters.

There is some evidence to suggest that not all of the targeted vessels are carrying drugs. But regardless of the criminal status of the targeted boats and personnel, legal experts have emphasized that Congress — not the executive branch — authorizes the extensive use of military force. Without proper authority, U.S. personnel risk acting outside the law if civilians, rather than armed combatants, are killed.