United States Kills Three In Fresh Strike As Its Largest Warship Enters Caribbean Amid Venezuela Tensions

Last Updated:November 17, 2025, 02:55 IST

The United States increases military action in Latin America, striking drug vessels, releasing USS Gerald R. Ford, and resuming jungle training in Panama.

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United States eliminates 3 in strike on believed drug vessel.

USS Gerald R. Ford goes into Caribbean in the middle of stress.

United States resumes jungle warfare training in Panama.

The United States has actually dramatically intensified its military posture in Latin America, performing another deadly strike on a thought narcotics-smuggling vessel even as its most sophisticated carrier went into the Caribbean Sea in a significant program of force.

In a declaration launched Sunday, the Pentagon stated that on November 15, Joint Task Force Southern Spear performed a “deadly kinetic strike” on a vessel run by a designated terrorist organisation. The strike, ordered by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, targeted a boat travelling along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific. Three men described as “narco-terrorists” were eliminated. The United States stated intelligence verified the vessel was bring narcotics and running in worldwide waters.

This was potentially the 21st such American strike on believed smuggling boats given that September. A minimum of 83 individuals have actually been eliminated in these operations throughout the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific as the Trump administration magnifies what it states is a project versus drug-trafficking networks.

The escalation accompanies the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford– the United States Navy’s most sophisticated attack aircraft carrier– in the Caribbean on Sunday, marking the biggest American military accumulation in the area in generations.

The Ford and its accompanying provider strike group transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands and will sign up with almost a lots Navy vessels and around 12,000 sailors and Marines currently released under “Operation Southern Spear.”

Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the carrier group, said its presence would “protect our nation’s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere,” including that the release broadens a currently considerable United States marine footprint offshore.

Venezuela, nevertheless, sees the accumulation as a pressure strategy directed at President Nicolás Maduro. The United States firmly insists the operations are strictly counter-narcotics, however the scale of the implementation, integrated with duplicated deadly strikes, has actually raised concerns about Washington’s wider objectives in South America.

Individually, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll stated on Sunday that United States soldiers have actually rebooted jungle warfare training in Panama, signalling yet another growth of American military activity in the area. “We’re reactivating our jungle school,” he told CBS, adding that forces would be ready to act on whatever orders President Trump and Secretary Hegseth issued.

About the Author

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se…Read More

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se…

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