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The Pentagon announced Friday it is deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to Latin American waters as part of an expanded campaign against drug trafficking organizations, a move that has prompted sharp warnings from Brazil about potential regional destabilization.
The deployment represents a significant escalation of American military presence in the region and comes "in support of the president's directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement posted on X.
The carrier strike group, which includes multiple accompanying vessels, marks one of the most substantial commitments of U.S. naval power to counter-narcotics operations in recent years.
Brazil, South America's largest nation and a key regional power, expressed alarm at the deployment, particularly amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Caracas. Celso Amorim, a senior foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, warned Thursday that any American intervention in Venezuela could have far-reaching consequences across the continent.
"We cannot accept an outside intervention because it will trigger immense resentment," Amorim told AFP, with U.S. warships already positioned in the Caribbean. "It could inflame South America and lead to radicalization of politics on the whole continent."
The deployment comes as Lula prepares for a potential meeting with President Donald Trump this weekend in Malaysia, where both leaders are attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur. Amorim indicated that Lula would seek constructive dialogue rather than confrontation.
"There has to be dialogue to seek points of agreement" on issues including U.S. tariffs, Amorim said Thursday, adding that Lula expects mutual respect in any discussions with Trump. The meeting between the two leaders has not been officially confirmed.
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