This represents a drastically-stepped up campaign with an eye on Venezuela, at a moment Washington is mulling possible regime change targeting President Nicolás Maduro, with US officials describing the Ford carrier's purpose as to bolster the Navy's capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities.

It also comes after weeks of drones strikes taking out alleged drug smuggling boats - and the tally now stands at nineteen vessels destroyed and over 70 killed.

The Ford and its current three accompanying warships sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar on Nov. 4. "Ship spotters detected Ford escort, USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) off the coast of Puerto Rico early Tuesday. Bainbridge sailed with Ford through Gibraltar," naval publications note Tuesday. Additionally, Navy.mil announces Tuesday:

The maritime forces' arrival comes after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed the Carrier Strike Group to support the President's directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland.

Previously, the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies laid out why an entire carrier group in Caribbean waters represents a "use it or lose it" scenario which is ultra-costly, also in terms of removing it from other parts of the world:

Moving such a major element of U.S. combat power is highly significant because of the strategic trade-off it represents. The Navy has only 11 aircraft carriers. In general, only three are at sea at any one time because of the need for maintenance and training. All the regional commanders want them. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command always wants one—as a supplement to the carrier permanently stationed in Japan to counter the Chinese navy and conduct exercises with regional allies and partners.

Central Command wants one for the Indian Ocean for use against Iran and the Houthis or in the Eastern Mediterranean to provide air defense for Israel. European Command wants one for operations around Europe to deter Russia. By contrast, the Caribbean has been a low-visibility region for decades, with carriers rarely visiting.