The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has arrived in waters near Latin America, joining a massive naval buildup that has fueled speculation the Trump administration intends to dramatically escalate its deadly counternarcotics campaign there, possibly through direct attacks on Venezuela.

The Ford and its three accompanying warships arrived in the region Tuesday, the Navy said in a news release. The ships were not yet in the Caribbean Sea but had crossed into the larger U.S. Southern Command area of operations, which includes part of the Atlantic Ocean and drug-smuggling routes in the Pacific.

“These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said i

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