The United States’ flagship aircraft carrier has arrived in the Caribbean, as Donald Trump continues to amass military firepower close to Venezuela.
Led by the USS Gerald R Ford, the US’s largest and most advanced carrier strike group is now within striking distance of the country as tensions between Washington and Caracas mount.
The US Southern Command said the strike group’s deployment to the Caribbean Sea followed Mr Trump’s “directive to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland”.
The nuclear-powered USS Gerald R Ford, which operates F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter planes, is the world’s largest aircraft carrier. It is joined by two guided-missile destroyers, and other support vessels and aircraft.
Washington has built up the most significant US military force in the region for generations after destroying 20 boats that it said were ferrying drugs.
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Relations between Mr Maduro and Mr Trump have deteriorated sharply since the US president’s second term began, driven by American accusations that the Venezuelan government is complicit in drugs being trafficked into the US.
Pete Hegseth, Mr Trump’s Pentagon chief, said last week that a new mission codenamed “Operation Southern Spear”, would remove “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere”.
Amid the mounting American pressure against him, Mr Maduro was filmed singing part of John Lennon’s song Imagine during a political rally, urging his supporters: “To do everything for peace, as John Lennon used to say”.
The Left-wing authoritarian leader, whom the US does not recognize as a legitimate president, then sang “imagine all the people”, accompanied by chords from the 1971 hit, and made the peace symbol with his hands.
The 62-year-old described the song as “an anthem for all eras and generations” and asked young people to study its lyrics. He said Lennon’s message was “an inspiration for all times” and called him “a gift for humanity”.
Carlos Gimenez, a Republican congressman from Florida, meanwhile claimed Mr Maduro’s government may be planning to destroy parts of its own infrastructure to blame America, or the opposition.
He said: “We are tracking reports that the Maduro narco regime may be preparing to sabotage key Venezuelan infrastructure, including major bridges, tunnels, and refineries, and later blame the United States or the democratic opposition.
“While unverified, these claims match the desperate tactics of a collapsing dictatorship. The United States will continue to stand firmly with the Venezuelan people against tyranny, corruption, and any attempt by the regime to manufacture chaos or manipulate the truth for political survival.”
Maduro and his supporters also made the peace sign during the rally in Caracas
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‘Focus is purely on the drug trade’
The White House has given no clear signals about its military intentions, but Mr Trump said at the weekend he had “sort of” decided a plan. He told reporters: “I sort of have made up my mind – yeah. I mean, I can’t tell you what it would be, but I sort of have.”
Mr Trump and his top team have been briefed on options for potential strikes on land targets, including on Mr Maduro’s own protection team or inner circle, as well as to seize the country’s oil fields. However, privately aides have said the US president is wary of anything that could turn into an embarrassing failure or put American troops at risk.
A sustained military campaign risks angering much of Mr Trump’s political base, which is opposed to the US being drawn into costly foreign entanglements like in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A senior European official told the New York Times that US officials had insisted to diplomatic allies that the deployment was only designed to raise the temperature to see how Mr Maduro would react.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has said any military operation would be focused purely on the drug trade. In private meetings last week with House and Senate leaders, he reportedly said the government had no ambition for regime change.
Mr Trump has also reportedly asked about Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Venezuelan officials hoping to avert a clash earlier this year offered the Trump administration a dominant stake in the country’s oil and other mineral wealth. The offer was discussed for months, but fell through in October.
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