US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the USS Gerald R. Ford, the country’s most advanced aircraft carrier, to South American waters as part of his campaign against drug cartels represents an unusual shift in the global balance of power. This decision means that this critical asset, carrying thousands of marines and dozens of fighter jets, will leave the Mediterranean at a time when the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is threatened by new attacks.
With this move, the United States will be in the highly unusual position of not having a single operational aircraft carrier deployed off Europe and the Middle East. This is particularly evident given that the United States is conducting some of the most intensive combat operations in the Red Sea against the Houthi rebels in Yemen since World War II.
Concerned Power Gap in the Middle East
The new order to the USS Gerald R. Ford reflects the Trump administration’s increasing focus on the Western Hemisphere. Five aircraft carriers have been deployed to the Middle East since the Hamas attack; Ford’s withdrawal will reduce the show of military force in the region.
Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), questioned how long Ford could stay in South America with only three of the 11 US aircraft carriers at sea:
“This is such a powerful and scarce resource that there will be enormous pressure to do something or send it elsewhere. You can imagine peace talks breaking down in the eastern Mediterranean or something happening with Iran.”
Ford’s departure comes at a time of renewed violence in Gaza, where the Israeli military launched a series of attacks on Tuesday amid escalating tensions with Hamas.
Pressure on Venezuela Increases: Signalling an invasion?
Ford’s deployment is a major contribution to the growing US military presence near Venezuela. There were already eight warships, a fleet of F-35Bs and supersonic heavy bombers in the region. Five destroyers from the Ford task group are also being added to this build-up.
The US military’s 13 deadly attacks on alleged drug trafficking vessels fuelled fears that Trump could try to overthrow authoritarian President Nicolรกs Maduro, who faces narco-terrorism charges. Trump declared the drug cartels to be illegal combatants and stated that the United States was in “armed conflict” with them.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that ground attacks in Venezuela were a “real possibility”, adding to concerns:
“We’re not going to sit on the sidelines and watch ships full of drugs come into our country… I think we’re going to extend our operations to land.”
Experts say US forces in the region are not sufficient for an invasion, but could help topple Maduro or plunge the country into a “Libya-style collapse that could last for years”.
