The United States is stepping up its military presence in the Caribbean by ordering its most advanced aircraft carrier into the region. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of using drug trafficking claims to "fabricate a war" in Latin America.

Caracas

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States of fabricating a conflict in the Caribbean as the US intensifies its military operations against alleged drug trafficking. Recent US strikes have resulted in at least 40 deaths, including civilians such as a Trinidadian fisherman whose family disputes any criminal involvement. The US has deployed its newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, to the region, citing efforts to combat maritime drug trafficking, and has accused Maduro of benefiting from the drug trade.

Maduro has rejected these allegations, describing the US actions as imperial aggression intended to destabilize Venezuela's government. He called for regional unity against war and for peace and prosperity. The situation has drawn comparisons to previous US interventions in Latin America, as the US President recently authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela, raising concerns among regional observers.

Venezuela's Maduro accuses U.S of 'fabricating war'

This footage is said to show yet another US strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat. At least a tenth such attack in the Caribbean in recent weeks. At least 40 people have been killed in these operations, among them Trinidadian fisherman Rishi Samaru. His family insists he had turned his life around after a troubled youth and was no criminal and just out fishing. I want justice for my son. No one had a right to take my son away from me like this. Now the US is escalating further, deploying its newest and most advanced aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, the USS Gerald Ford. Some 5,000 sailors and marines are on board, supporting operations against maritime drug trafficking. Washington accuses Venezuelan President Maduro of aiding and profiting from the drug trade. Americas rejects the narrative, calling it a new form of imperial aggression and a pretext to destabilize the socialist government. And the people of the United States know it. They're making up a new eternal war. They promised never to go to war again, and yet they are creating one. We will prevent it with the mobilization of the peoples of South America. As South America and the Caribbean together say, no to war, yes to peace, yes to prosperity, yes to living in harmony. US President Donald Trump recently said that the CIA has been authorized to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. For many in Latin America, these new escalations and a military build-up in the Caribbean echo past interventions. Like in Chile, Nicaragua or Panama, where governments were toppled by the US in the name of security and to shift the geopolitical order.

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Kingston

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Paris

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Deploying an aircraft carrier is a major escalation of military power in a region that has already seen an unusually large US military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela.

U.S sending aircraft carrier to South America in major escalation

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New York

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Washington

Pentagon sending world's largest aircraft carrier to Latin America

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Brussels

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San Francisco

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The U.S. hit another alleged drug vessel with a military strike Tuesday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie d'Agata has more.

Breakdown