Trump deploys aircraft carrier strike group to South America amid Venezuela tensions

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deployed a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its complement of guided missile destroyers to the South American coast Friday, according to his top spokesperson.

Sean Parnell, who is Hegseth’s assistant defense secretary for public affairs, announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford, its on-board warplanes, and the other ships in its strike group are deploying to “dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations … and counter narco-terrorism” in the region.