Warships, submarines and Tomahawk missiles: How the US is preparing for a possible war with Venezuela
US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday in a dramatic escalation of hostilities between Washington and Caracas.
Helicopters sent to intercept the vessel had reportedly taken off from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the region last month in a pointed show of force.
The latest operation, pulling in special forces and US Marines, follows months of sabre-rattling and intimidation from Donald Trump in an attempt to pile pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
But with Maduro unmoved, the US buildup in the Caribbean shows no sign of slowing down as Trump continues to amass gunboats, troops and missiles.
The USS Gerald R. Ford joined a fleet of 12 warships in the Caribbean in November, adding capacity for up to 90 aircraft to join the 10 F-35B fighter jets stationed in Puerto Rico.
Stocked with the long-range missiles long coveted by Ukraine, the US armada today has the capability to strike targets anywhere in Venezuela.
That force projects huge power across the region for an operation ostensibly targeting drug traffickers. It represents the largest US buildup in the area unrelated to natural disaster in more than three decades.
The number of combat vessels has jumped since the first half of the year, when the US kept a steady patrol of three to five in the region, according to analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
That figure leaves out the tankers and resupply ships also joining the fleet and includes ships with direct combat functions, even if not commissioned warships.
That rose to ten in August when Trump deployed the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group to the Caribbean. The US began its military campaign in September, striking a small boat it said was carrying drugs, without providing evidence.
That month, the US suddenly began construction at a former naval base in Puerto Rico.
Photos taken by Reuters showed the US was coordinating its buildup with upgrades to landing and take-off capabilities at Roosevelt Roads, the former site of one of the world’s foremost naval stations before it was shuttered in 2004. Civilian airports in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were also eyed for renovation.
US military officials and maritime experts said the new builds indicated the kind of preparations that could allow attacks on Venezuela.
As it began renovations on military bases, special forces joined the buildup in September, before another warship and the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the 337m long USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived in November.
