On Friday, October 24, 2025, Senior Advisor and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell announced that President Donald Trump had ordered the next-generation nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), along with its strike group, to withdraw from the Mediterranean Sea and head to the Caribbean Sea to support operations against drug cartels that, according to Washington, are allegedly backed by Venezuela.
Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins, US Navy
„In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).
The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR 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.”
Sean Parnell
The 12th Carrier Strike Group, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), has been operating in the European region since mid-July of this year, conducting training activities with NATO allies (the mission began on June 24 in Norfolk). According to the latest reports, as of Friday, the carrier is currently in Split, Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea, having arrived there from the eastern Mediterranean. Earlier, in early October, it passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, and prior to that had operated in the North Sea, among other areas. Given its current location, the carrier could reach the Caribbean Sea in no less than a week.
The carrier is accompanied by five Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers: USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98), USS Mahan (DDG-72), and USS Mitscher (DDG-57), forming Destroyer Squadron 2, as well as USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), serving independently as an air defense destroyer. The group is also expected to include a nuclear-powered attack submarine as part of the escort.
On board the carrier is Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), composed of the following squadrons: VFA-37 Ragin’ Bulls, VFA-213 Blacklions, VFA-87 Golden Warriors, and VFA-31 Tomcatters, flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets; VAQ-142 Gray Wolves, flying EA-18G Growlers; VAW-124 Bear Aces, flying E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes; VRC-40 Rawhides, operating C-2 Greyhounds; HSM-70 Spartans, flying MH-60R Seahawks; and HSC-9 Tridents, flying MH-60S Seahawks.
It remains unclear which of the escort ships will accompany the carrier to its new area of operations.
Operations Against Venezuela
Since September 2 and up until yesterday, the U.S. Navy has already sunk 10 speedboats and semi-submersible vessels belonging to the Venezuelan drug cartel Tren de Aragua, resulting in at least 43 deaths. The organization has been on the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list since February 20.
Significant U.S. Navy forces are currently deployed in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the guided-missile destroyers USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), USS Gravely (DDG-107), and USS Sampson (DDG-102); the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70); the amphibious transport docks USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and USS San Antonio (LPD-17) of the San Antonio Flight I class; and the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) of the Wasp class, carrying the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) with approximately 2,200 Marines on board. The group also includes an undisclosed nuclear-powered multi-mission submarine. The task force has been deployed to the Caribbean region to combat organized crime and narco-terrorism in the area.
Subsequently, ten F-35B Lightning II multirole fighter jets, AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters, a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, and MQ-9A Reaper armed drones were deployed to Puerto Rico. Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army are said to remain on alert, while the logistics support ship MV Ocean Trader has also been sighted in the region.
The Venezuelan government has expressed concern over U.S. actions. President Nicolás Maduro, considered by Washington an illegitimate head of state, has repeatedly received verbal threats from Donald Trump, who recently stated that after the sinking of the tenth cartel vessel, the next targets will be on land.
It should be recalled that on August 8 of this year, Trump increased the reward for the capture of Maduro to 50 million USD (previously, the Biden administration had offered 25 million USD, and the Obama administration 15 million USD). Since January 24, 2019, Maduro has not been recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate president following fraudulent elections, with the United States, most Latin American countries, and several European nations recognizing Juan Guaidó as the interim head of state.
Recently, the U.S. Air Force also conducted shows of force, with three B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers appearing near Venezuela a week ago, followed by two B-1B Lancers. Although Trump denied the latter deployment, their presence was reportedly visible on ADS-B Exchange commercial flight-tracking maps.
STATEMENT:
In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S.…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 24, 2025
Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
The vessel was known by our… pic.twitter.com/lVlw0FLBv4
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 24, 2025