Pentagon directs carrier group to Southern Command area
The Pentagon announced that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and its embarked carrier air wing to operate in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, which covers the Caribbean Sea, Central America and South America.
A Defense Department spokesman said the deployment will increase the United States’ capacity to detect, monitor and disrupt illicit maritime activity that threatens U.S. security and the Western Hemisphere.
Carrier and group composition
The Gerald R. Ford is the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, commissioned in 2017. Publicly available specifications list the ship at more than 1,100 feet in length with a displacement near 100,000 long tons. It is nuclear powered and can reach a top speed reported at roughly 34.5 miles per hour.
Officials said the carrier group will join other U.S. naval assets already operating in the region. That force includes three destroyers, one cruiser, a littoral combat ship, an amphibious assault ship and two transport ships. The Ford was reported to be in the Mediterranean Sea, accompanied by three destroyers, prior to the move.
Recent strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels
The deployment follows a series of recent U.S. strikes on vessels the Pentagon identified as involved in narcotics trafficking. Defense officials stated the most recent strike targeted a vessel allegedly associated with the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua. The secretary of defense said that the strike occurred in international waters at night, that six people aboard were killed, and that intelligence indicated the vessel was carrying narcotics and transiting a known trafficking route.
Pentagon statements describe the recent actions as part of a broader campaign. Officials tallied multiple strikes over recent weeks and said the operations had expanded from the Caribbean into the Pacific.
Stated mission and regional implications
Defense officials framed the carrier strike group deployment as an enhancement of U.S. maritime detection, monitoring and disruption capabilities in the Western Hemisphere. The move places a large, carrier‑based aviation and sea platform in the region to support maritime law enforcement and interdiction activities coordinated under Southern Command.
Related coverage
- Idaho News – https://idahonews.co/idaho-news-3/
- National News – https://idahonews.co/national-news/
- Global News – https://idahonews.co/global-news/
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