US Navy Carrier Strike Group Remains Poised Against Cartels, ‘Dark Fleet’

Last Updated:January 12, 2026, 23:21 IST

USS Gerald R. Ford and warships remain deployed in the Western Hemisphere for Operation Southern Spear, targeting dark fleet vessels and drug trafficking.

USS Gerald R. Ford and warships remain deployed in the Western Hemisphere for Operation Southern Spear, targeting dark fleet vessels and drug trafficking. (Image: X @Southcom)

The US Southern Command on Tuesday said that the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, along with amphibious warships including USS Iwo Jima, USS Fort Lauderdale and USS San Antonio, remain deployed in the Western Hemisphere as part of a broad campaign to disrupt illicit “dark fleet" vessels and drug trafficking networks.

In a post on social media, Southern Command said Marines and sailors aboard these platforms are ready to support the US Department of Homeland Security, Department of State and Department of Justice in efforts to “disrupt dark fleet vessels and illicit shipments that directly support malign actors and cartels." The deployment is part of Operation Southern Spear, a US military-led mission aimed at countering drug trafficking, smuggling and other transnational criminal activity across the Caribbean and Latin America.

The carrier strike group’s presence marks one of the largest US naval deployments in the region in decades and underscores growing military involvement in hemispheric security operations. The Gerald R. Ford was ordered to the Southern Command area of responsibility in late 2025 to bolster efforts against narcotics networks, enhance surveillance and interdiction, and support partner nations.

Focus on Venezuela 

The US deployment has taken on a heightened strategic dimension focused on Venezuela as part of broader pressure on what Washington describes as illicit maritime and criminal networks with ties to the Venezuelan oil sector. US forces have seized so-called “dark fleet" tankers in the Caribbean, alleged to be transporting sanctioned Venezuelan crude under false flags, actions the Pentagon says aim to enforce sanctions and disrupt illegal shipments.

The naval buildup has coincided with an intensified US campaign, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, which in late 2025 and early 2026 included multiple interdictions of tankers tied to Venezuelan oil exports and tighter controls on sanctioned shipping. US officials have framed the operations as critical to regional security and blocking revenue streams for criminal organisations, though the increasing military footprint near Venezuela and capturing its president Nicolas Maduro has drawn scrutiny and heightened tensions in the region.

News world US Navy Carrier Strike Group Remains Poised Against Cartels, ‘Dark Fleet’

Read More