Washington is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group to counter drug-trafficking organizations in Latin America, the Pentagon said Friday, marking a massive increase in US firepower in the region.

The United States launched a military campaign targeting boats allegedly used to smuggle narcotics in early September, destroying at least 10 vessels in a series of strikes.

But the American military buildup in the region as part of that campaign — including stealth warplanes and Navy ships — has sparked fears in Venezuela that Washington’s ultimate goal is the overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro, and the deployment of the carrier is certain to add to those concerns.

The deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford is “in support of the president’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Or

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