The USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest and latest aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy is set to arrive in the Caribbean at the beginning of next week, an astronomical increase in the American military presence off Venezuela, as speculations continue to increase on the possibility of U.S. attacks on the government of Nicolás Maduro. 

According to The Maritime Executive, the $13 billion supercarrier went west through the Gibraltar Strait on Monday morning, with ship spotters confirming the ship was sailing at around 15 knots and was escorted by the USS Bainbridge destroyer. 

Long-range surveillance was available with the U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol plane surveillance as the Ford entered the Atlantic, and a supply ship was on the same. It is thought that the carrier force might be supported by the last-seen crossing the Strait destroyer USS Mahan, which was seen to cross the Strait on October 31. 

The Ford is expected to fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Southern Command at its present pace around Nov. 10, becoming part of what defense analysts are calling the greatest buildup of U.S. firepower in the Caribbean since the 1970s. 

This is the first deployment of the Ford in fewer than two weeks upon an order issued by President Donald Trump to redeploy the Ford off the Mediterranean; however, the Pentagon publicly interpreted the redeployment as part of an expanded counternarcotics operation, when many observers would view the move as the first act in a possible strike campaign against Venezuela. 

According to the statement offered by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, “These forces will increase and complement the current capabilities to disrupt the activities of narcotics trafficking and degrade and destroy transnational criminal organizations, and the appearance of the Ford will reinforce the current maritime security activities in the area.”

It is peculiar, though, that the Ford shall cross with little or no escort visible, as an ocean passage of such a valuable ship. However, when it gets to the Caribbean, it will form part of an expanding task force which will involve four surface combat ships and two amphibious ones. 

The military of the U.S. alone is expected to have 13 ships in the region in the near future, according to estimates provided by the Center of Strategic and International Studies; this includes eight warships, three amphibious vessels, and a nuclear-powered submarine. The American ships that are already in operation in Venezuelan waters are joined by the freshly arrived cruisers USS Gettysburg and USS Lake Erie. 

Although the deployment is officially characterized as a counternarcotics deployment, the accumulation is also associated with increased White House discussions on the possibility of direct action against the regime of Maduro. 

Both The Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal covered the story that the Trump administration is considering Venezuelan military installations purportedly linked to drug-trafficking networks as bombed targets. 

Meanwhile, The New York Times said, “Trump is considering a wider range of possible interventions, including seizing oil fields, attacking the elite guard units of Maduro, and even forcibly ousting the Venezuelan head of state. The administration has not directed Congress to formally declare war.”

Rather, they claim that the senior advisers are deliberating other legal rationales to use regime-change operations under current anti-drug laws, concerning the argument that Maduro and his inner circle serve as principal nodes in transnational narcotics networks.

An emerging conflict. As Washington gathers what Latin American leaders have labeled an armada in the Caribbean, tension in much of Venezuela, where a significant number of citizens are simultaneously terrified and excited at the prospect of Ford’s arrival, is building. To others, it is an indication that the second process of the Trump campaign against Maduro might soon commence. 

On Wednesday, speaking on video at the America Business Forum, which took place in Miami, top opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner in Venezuela, gave a vehement praise of the Trump measure, labeling it as totally right and a breakthrough in the fight against tyranny and organized crime in the hemisphere. 

In August, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that the reward for the capture of Maduro doubled to 50 million dollars, declaring him one of the largest drug traffickers in the world and a menace to U.S. national security. According to Bondi, “Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles, a drug trafficking group that is distributed in Venezuela and operates with other criminal organizations such as the Tren de Aragua of Venezuela, the Sinaloa Cartel of Mexico, and other transnational criminal organizations.”

Domestically, the government in Venezuela is scurrying to tighten its belt. The Washington Post reported that internal intelligence reports of the U.S. have cited that Maduro has directly requested Russia, China, and Iran to provide the urgently needed military support to restore his depleted military forces. The demands are said to include radar, drone systems, aircraft maintenance, and potentially surface-to-air missiles.

Russia has been the first to react – Maduro has personally written to the Kremlin – but China is also considering new military support, the documents indicate. Beijing has already provided billions as loans to Caracas and has even provided surveillance and medical equipment. 

Analysts attribute the outreach to the increasing desperation of Maduro. Decades of corruption, economic breakdown, and sanctions have rendered the military of Venezuela hollow so that it is dependent on its foreign partners. His request to Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran when he did has brought U. S. anxiety to a higher level and might be the determining factor in the speed of Washington to arrive at a solution of action. 

This next-generation, nuclear-powered supercarrier is the first of its kind and was commissioned in 2017. Its importance to the US military lies in its ability to provide continuous, high-temperature power projection. It is the largest and best-equipped warship in history that can carry up to 75 planes such as F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, and E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes. 

Operationally, its entrance would provide the U.S. with unrivalled dominance in the air over the Caribbean basin. The aircraft carrier air wing is capable of precision attacks many miles deep into the mainland, destroying air defenses, and providing continuous surveillance and electronic warfare capabilities, even when the Venezuelan missiles have reached their range. 

Although the American leaders insist that there is no decision to target offensive attacks, the symbolism of sending the most powerful warship of America this close to the Venezuelan waters is clear.

The vast majority of defense analysts believe so: it is very unlikely that the Ford was dispatched to patrol.