What’s happening between the USA and Venezuela – November 11, 2025

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, has entered the responsibility zone of the US Southern Command, covering Latin America and the Caribbean Basin. This was reported by the United States Navy on Tuesday. The arrival of the aircraft carrier marks the largest US military presence in the region since the invasion of Panama in 1989. The deployment of the ship and its strike group, which includes dozens of aircraft and destroyers, was announced almost three weeks ago. Upon its arrival, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a ‘massive deployment’ of ground, naval, air, river, and missile forces, as well as civilian militias to counter US naval presence near the country’s coast. Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, stated in a US Navy publication that the arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier with ‘over 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft on board’ will ‘strengthen US capabilities to detect, monitor, and interdict illegal entities and activities’ in the region. The American aircraft carrier joins other military ships, a nuclear submarine, and aircraft based in Puerto Rico, forming the largest US military presence in the region in decades. President Donald Trump attempted to justify the significant military buildup as part of his ‘war’ against drug traffickers, allegedly involved in drug smuggling in the waters of the Caribbean Basin and the Pacific Ocean. This campaign included airstrikes on ships, resulting in at least 76 deaths since September in South American waters. The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense confirmed that Maduro’s mobilization order will be carried out from Tuesday, November 11. The operation will aim to unite all military and power structures under ‘full operational readiness.’ This is part of the ‘Independence Plan – 2025,’ a civil-military strategy that mobilizes the armed forces, Bolivarian militias, and police nationwide.