US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered an aircraft carrier strike grouplocated in Europe, to move to the Caribbean regionamid the massive buildup of US military forces in the region.

OR strike team Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying air force are sent to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and tackle narco-terrorismaccording to suspension of of the Pentagon’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, in X.

Team Ford approached the port of Split in Croatia on October 21st. This means the ships are over 5,000 miles away from the Caribbean, and it will take days to be able to carry out any operations.

The build-up of US forces has raised questions about its intentions Trump administration in the area. The administration has repeatedly said the military presence is part of a campaign against drug trafficking, but the US president is also considering strikes inside Venezuela as part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening leader Nicolas Maduro, according to a CNN report.

Ford, a “class one” aircraft carrier, is billed by the Navy as the largest warship ever built in the world.

Hegseth said on Friday morning that the US had carried out a nighttime strike against a vessel he said belonged to a drug cartel and was transporting narcotics to the Caribbean. The strike, which Hegseth said killed six people, brings the total number of known vessels targeted to 10 and the death toll to 43 since the US campaign began last month.