US Aircraft Carrier Joins Military Buildup in Latin America
The USS Gerald R. Ford in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Oct. 3.
Photographer: Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images
A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Latin America, the Pentagon said, adding to a military buildup in the region that the Trump administration says is aimed at narco-traffickers but has also prompted questions about possible attacks on Venezuela.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, arrived in the US Southern Command area of operation on Tuesday, the Pentagon said. It carries 4,000 sailors as well as fighter squadrons of F/A-18 Super Hornets, and was joined by guided-missile destroyers and a missile-defense command ship, the USS Winston S. Churchill.