Photo courtesy of Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa (Venezuela)
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group arrived in the Latin American region on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, entering the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. The carrier is carrying more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft.
President Trump ordered the deployment of the Ford last month (in October), adding to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the Caribbean.
The Pentagon said the deployment is intended to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit activities, dismantle transnational criminal organizations, and curb drug smuggling. U.S. forces have carried out strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats along both coasts of South America, destroying about 20 vessels in 17 operations that have killed at least 76 traffickers.
Last month Trump authorized CIA operations in Venezuela, and he previously indicated consideration of strikes within the country.
Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino López announced that Venezuela would place the nation’s full military arsenal on alert, including its militia and nearly 200,000 soldiers. He described the mobilization as a response to the “imperialist threat” posed by the U.S. buildup and said land, air, naval, and reserve forces would conduct exercises continuing through Wednesday, November 12. That same day, President Nicolás Maduro signed into law a national defense framework ordering the activation of “integral defense commands” to unify civilian and military forces.
The exercise, called “Plan Independencia 200,” comes amid growing U.S. military activity near the Caribbean. The Pentagon confirmed that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest and most advanced carrier, had entered the U.S. Southern Command’s operational zone, which includes Latin America and the Caribbean.
Padrino accused the U.S. of “murdering defenseless people” in anti-drug operations. Meanwhile, the general was indicted in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to distribute cocaine on aircraft registered in the United States between March 2014 and May 2019. Despite having authority to interdict suspected drug-trafficking aircraft, Padrino López allegedly accepted bribes to allow certain flights to safely transit Venezuelan airspace while ordering the military to force down or shoot down others.
Several other top Venezuelan officials have been indicted in the United States on charges related to narcotics trafficking and corruption. President Nicolás Maduro Moros faces charges of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking conspiracy, and weapons offenses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the DEA. Diosdado Cabello Rondón, head of the National Constituent Assembly, has also been indicted on related charges. Venezuela’s Vice President for the Economy, Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah, faces charges of sanctions violations filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Among the military and intelligence figures charged are Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, known as “El Pollo,” the former director of military intelligence who pleaded guilty in June 2025, and Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, a former general in the Venezuelan armed forces.
Ironically, several former anti-narcotics officials have also been charged, including Néstor Luis Reverol Torres, the former head of Venezuela’s anti-drug agency (ONA) and a former National Guard commander, and Edylberto José Molina Molina, former ONA deputy director and current Venezuelan military attaché to Germany.
The U.S. government currently offers rewards of up to $50 million for information leading to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, with additional bounties placed on several other indicted officials.
The U.S. has also deployed F-35 stealth fighters to Puerto Rico and six additional Navy ships to the region, intensifying speculation that Washington seeks to pressure or remove Maduro. President Trump has not confirmed any such plan but said Maduro’s “days in office are numbered,” citing his alleged ties to drug cartels.
In response to U.S. operations, Colombian President Gustavo Petro suspended intelligence sharing with Washington, calling the missile strikes “illegal” and “ineffective.” He later accused the United States of committing “murder” with its attacks. Padrino warned that any foreign intervention would face fierce resistance, declaring that Venezuelans are “united to defend this nation to the death.”
In October 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned President Gustavo Petro, his wife Verónica del Socorro Alcocer García, his son Nicolás Fernando Petro Burgos, and Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti under Executive Order 14059, which targets foreign individuals involved in the global illicit drug trade. These were sanctions, not criminal indictments.
The Treasury Department stated that since Petro took office, cocaine production in Colombia has surged to its highest level in decades and accused him of enabling drug cartels to expand while aligning himself with Nicolás Maduro’s narco-terrorist regime and the Cartel de los Soles.
Nicolás Petro, the president’s eldest son, was arrested in Colombia in July 2023 on charges of money laundering and illicit enrichment. He admitted to receiving $386,000 from individuals with criminal backgrounds, including Samuel Santander Lopesierra, known as “El Hombre Marlboro,” a convicted drug trafficker who served 18 years in U.S. prison. Nicolás Petro claimed the money was meant to support his father’s presidential campaign but acknowledged keeping a large portion for himself.
Last week, on November 7, the Senate narrowly voted down legislation that would have required President Trump to obtain congressional approval before launching any military action against Venezuela. The measure failed 51–49. Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff led the effort, with only two Republicans joining Democrats in support.
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