The arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford, the nation\u2019s most advanced aircraft carrier, comes as US strikes alleged drug vessels in the region, killing dozens.<\/p>\n
The United States has carried out its latest military strike against an alleged drug boat off Latin America, as US President Donald Trump raises pressure on Venezuela with a major military buildup in the region.<\/p>\n
The US military struck a vessel believed to be transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people on board, the Pentagon said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIntelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,\u201d US Southern Command said in a social media post.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the strike came hours after Washington\u2019s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, arrived in the Caribbean Sea.<\/p>\n
The deployment of the carrier has raised fears that the Trump administration could be readying itself for imminent military action against Venezuela.<\/p>\n
While the Trump administration has cast the military actions in the region as an effort to counter illicit drug flows, Caracas\u00a0sees the moves as a pretext to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.<\/p>\n
Trump, who said last week he had \u201csort of\u201d made up his mind on the possibility of military action against Venezuela,\u00a0on Sunday suggested that his administration could hold talks with Maduro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see how that turns out. But they would like to talk,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington would designate Cartel de los Soles, a criminal organisation that the Trump administration claims is headed by Maduro, a \u201cforeign terrorist organization\u201d (FTO).<\/p>\n
\u201cHeaded by the illegitimate Nicolas Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,\u201d Rubio said in a post in X.<\/p>\n
Rubio did not provide evidence for his claims.<\/p>\n
The US has\u00a0conducted at least 21 military strikes<\/a>\u00a0on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September, killing some 80 people.<\/p>\n International law and human rights experts say the attacks\u00a0amount to extrajudicial executions<\/a>, even if those targeted are suspected of drug trafficking.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has so far provided no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were \u201cnarcoterrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Operation Southern Spear\u2019<\/p>\n On Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported that senior Trump administration officials held three meetings at the White House this week to discuss options for possible military action against Venezuela.<\/p>\n The reported meetings come as the Trump administration has continued to significantly expand the US military\u2019s presence in Latin America, deploying F-35 aircraft, warships and a nuclear submarine.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the Pentagon said the Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group, which includes the world\u2019s largest aircraft carrier, had arrived in the Caribbean with at least 4,000 sailors and dozens of \u201ctactical aircraft\u201d on board.<\/p>\n There are now about 12,000 US sailors and Marines in the region, in what US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday formally named\u00a0\u201cOperation Southern Spear\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Under the US Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war.<\/p>\n