The Trump administration ordered the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the Western Hemisphere as the United States continues to target drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean.
“In support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland, the Secretary of War has directed the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and embarked carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR),” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a social media statement.
“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” he added. “These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the military struck a vessel known by U.S. intelligence to be “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.”
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth warned. “Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”
The announcement marks the tenth strike targeting suspected drug trafficking vessels.
President Trump told reporters on Thursday that the United States will target those who are bringing drugs into the country.
