• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the Trump administration of fabricating an “eternal war” as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier heads toward South American waters.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the deployment Friday, claiming the mission targets transnational criminal organizations and narco-terrorism threatening American security.
• Maduro mobilized military forces along Venezuela’s 1,200-mile coastline and warned against potential US aggression in televised addresses.

CARACAS, Venezuela (TDR) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro delivered a defiant message Friday night as the world’s largest aircraft carrier steamed toward his country, accusing the Trump administration of manufacturing a conflict that could destabilize the entire region.

In a nationally televised broadcast, Maduro characterized the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford as the latest escalation in what he called Washington’s attempt to forge “a new eternal war” against Venezuela. The carrier, which can host up to 90 aircraft and helicopters, represents a massive show of American military force in waters that have already seen an unprecedented US naval buildup.

Pentagon frames deployment as anti-drug operation

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the carrier strike group’s deployment Friday through Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, who stated the mission would “bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors” threatening American security. The official narrative centers on dismantling transnational criminal organizations, particularly the Tren de Aragua gang and the alleged Cartel de los Soles.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, commissioned in 2017, displaces more than 100,000 tons and stretches 1,100 feet in length. With a crew of approximately 4,600 including its air wing, the carrier brings overwhelming firepower to a region where the US already maintains about 6,000 sailors and Marines aboard eight warships. The addition of the Ford strike group could add nearly 4,500 more personnel and nine squadrons of aircraft.

Venezuelan military mobilizes defensive posture

Maduro responded to the escalating American presence by ordering the Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, police forces, and civilian militias to deploy along Venezuela’s entire 2,000-kilometer coastline for 72-hour defense exercises. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López emphasized achieving “optimal coordination” across all state security apparatus.

“In six hours, 100% of all the country’s coastline was covered in real time, with all the equipment and heavy weapons to defend all of Venezuela’s coasts if necessary,” Maduro declared during Thursday’s government event. He added a mocking refrain: “Not war, not war, not war. Just peace, just peace, just peace. Forever, forever, forever. No crazy war.”

International concerns mount over potential conflict

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The carrier deployment follows a series of provocative American military actions, including supersonic bomber flights near Venezuelan territory and at least 10 strikes on suspected drug-running vessels since September, killing at least 43 people. UN officials and international law scholars have characterized these strikes as violations of international law and potential extrajudicial executions.

Brazil’s government expressed opposition to any military intervention in Venezuela, with presidential advisor Celso Amorim warning such actions could foster resentment and political radicalization throughout Latin America. Regional analysts suggest the military buildup sends a broader message beyond counternarcotics operations.

“An expression that I’m hearing a lot is ‘Drugs are the excuse.’ And everyone knows that,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst for the Andes region at the International Crisis Group. “And I think that message is very clear in regional capitals.”

Congressional oversight questions emerge

Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about Trump ordering military actions without congressional authorization. Democratic Senator Andy Kim, who previously worked at the Pentagon and State Department, expressed alarm about the operation’s scope and potential escalation.

“We have no idea how far this is going, how this could potentially bring in boots on the ground,” Kim stated. “Is it going to be escalatory in a way where we could see us get bogged down for a long time?”

The USS Gerald R. Ford was positioned in Croatia when deployment orders came through. Pentagon officials declined to specify how long the transit would take or whether all five destroyers in the strike group would make the journey to South American waters.

Do you believe the Trump administration’s deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford to Venezuelan waters is justified as a counternarcotics operation, or does it represent dangerous military overreach that could destabilize the region?

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