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Carrier USS Ford Crosses Atlantic as US Forces Gather Near Venezuela

Ford
File image: USS Ford in the Strait of Gibraltar, heading eastbound, early October (USN file image)

Published Nov 4, 2025 4:55 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford has exited the Strait of Gibraltar and is under way for the Carribean, less than two weeks after the Trump administration announced the order to redeploy. 

Ship-spotters sighted USS Ford passing westbound through the strait on Monday morning, making 15 knots and accompanied by destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG-96). Air traffic tracking shows that Ford also had long-range surveillance provided by a P-8A Poseidon aircraft patrol. Naval auxiliary USNS Supply has been spotted nearby, and destroyer USS Mahan may well be in the vicinity, having passed westbound through the Strait of Gibraltar on October 31. 

Ford's speed puts her on track to reach U.S. Southern Command on or about November 10, joining a growing military presence near Venezuela amidst mounting reports of planned strikes on the regime of dictator Nicolas Maduro. 

The rest of Ford's carrier strike group appears to be staying behind in Europe. It is relatively rare for the $13 billion carrier to conduct an ocean crossing with only one or two identified escorts in tow, but Ford will benefit from additional defensive support on her arrival in the Caribbean, where an abundance of firepower has already accumulated. In addition to a growing task force of four surface combatants and two amphibs, the buildup includes USAF F-35 fighters, airlift assets and at least one aerial tanker at Naval Air Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico (per OSINT specialist MT Anderson.)

According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, Ford and other high-end warfighting assets are going to augment the U.S. military's counternarcotics campaign, which has so far destroyed 15 small craft and killed an estimated 64 suspects in international waters. "These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs," Parnell said. 

U.S. officials told the New York Times this week that President Trump is weighing a range of options to intervene on the ground in Venezuela, ranging from seizing oil fields to attacking Maduro's personal elite guard units to forcibly ousting the dictator from power. The administration has not requested a declaration of war on Venezuela from Congress, and is said to be discussing alternative legal theories that could support regime change-level operations, all related to alleged drug smuggling activity.