The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, billed by the US Navy as “the most capable, adaptable, and lethal combat platform in the world,” is being sent to the Caribbean as the Trump administration ramps up military pressure on Venezuela over alleged drug trafficking.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is routing a carrier strike group to US Southern Command to bolster efforts in a new Caribbean drug war.

The Midway-class aircraft carrier was instrumental in American naval operations around the world spanning from the end of WWII into the 1990s.

China’s newest aircraft carrier may only be able to conduct air operations at about 60% the rate of a 50-year-old US Navy carrier, two former US carrier officers say, a substantial combat limitation for a vessel meant to revolutionize Beijing’s fleet.

The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea. The Navy has eight warships in the region.

Experts call it "21st-century gunboat diplomacy" as U.S. positions strike-capable forces in Caribbean amid tensions with Maduro regime and cartels.

A report claims that the U.S. military has been positioning a massive number of naval ships, air assets, and troops in the Caribbean region.

Australia also plays a vital role in the U.S.'s island chain strategy. It lies south of three defensive lines across the western Pacific that seek to contain the scope of Chinese military activities, which have expanded far beyond the coastline of East Asia and include a rare naval circumnavigation of Australia and operations in the South Pacific.

The deployment comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a 10th strike against a suspected drug smuggling vessel.