Few details are emerging about the operation in the Caribbean that involves at least seven Norfolk-based ships.
The carrier USS Ford and its strike group have entered the area of Southern Command after crossing the Atlantic from Europe. After being ordered to the region by President Donald Trump more than three weeks ago, the ships have crossed into the Navy region that includes South American and the Caribbean.
“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,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell, referring to the Southern Command’s area of responsibility, or AOR.
With the arrival of the four ships of the USS Ford strike group, over half the Navy vessels in Southern Command are from Norfolk.
The ships are part of a build up in the area around Venezuela, where the U.S. forces have killed at least 76 people and destroyed 19 small boats. The Trump administration has claimed the boats are tied to transnational drug cartels without providing evidence.
The administration has released videos of boats being destroyed but has not said which assets were involved in the strikes, or whether they are being struck by one of several Predator drones in the Caribbean or from one of the ships or war planes already amassed in the region.
The Washington Post reports the Justice Department produced a 50-page memo in July which said troops involved in the operation would not be held legally liable for any killings that could happen during the operation.
There is a growing frustration in Congress, especially among Democrats, about the White House not providing more information to lawmakers and the public about the operation. Sen. Tim Kaine has sponsored legislation to require the president to seek authorization from Congress for the operation in the Caribbean. So far, the measure has not passed.
The head of U.S. Southern Command, Adm. Alvin Holsey toured U.S. forces in the region last week. The admiral is resigning one year into what is typically a three year command. He is set to leave sometime around the end of the year. Several sources have speculated that his decision to leave early is based, at least in part, on his disagreement with how the operation is being conducted.
USS Ford is the newest and largest aircraft carrier and it carries a full complement of F/A 18 fighters. With the announcement of USS Ford entering the region, Venezuela has mobilized its military in anticipation of a strike.
The build up in the Caribbean began in August, with the first strike against a small boat happening in early September. The fleet has been dispersed around the region. The three ships of the Norfolk-based USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and their 2,200 Marines from Camp Lejeune have drilled with the Puerto Rican National Guard. The sailors and Marines of the USS San Antonio are off the coast of Jamaica, where they have aided in relief efforts after a hurricane Melissa struck on October 28.
The USS Gravely is the busiest ship in the region. The destroyer was in Trinidad and Tobago at the end of October. The port was only miles from the Venezuelan coast and the Venezuelan government publicly considered the warship a provocation. USS Gravely went back to sea last week, after less than a week.
The destroyer first deployed to the area in March and has been back in the region since August. The crew of roughly 330 returned from a roughly nine-month deployment in July 2024, when the ship was in the Red Sea with the USS Eisenhower strike group during what the Navy considered the most active combat deployment since World War II.
