Venezuela's Maduro says US 'fabricating war' after it deployed huge warship

Venezuela's Maduro says US 'fabricating war' as it deploys world's largest warship

6 hours ago Share Save Kayla Epstein and Josh Cheetham, BBC Verify Share Save

The USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest warship, can carry up to 90 aircraft

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has accused the US of "fabricating a new war", after it ordered the world's largest warship to be sent to the Caribbean. The USS Gerald R Ford can carry up to 90 aircraft and its deployment marks a massive increase in US firepower in the region. The US has conducted 10 air strikes on vessels in the area as part of what it says is a war on drug traffickers. US President Donald Trump has accused Maduro of being the leader of a drug-trafficking organisation, which he denies, and there are fears in Venezuela that the US military build-up is aimed at removing the long-time opponent of Trump from power.

The US is among many nations that do not recognise Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, after the last election in 2024 was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair. Opposition tallies from polling stations showed its candidate had won by a landslide. Venezuela plays a relatively minor role in the region's drug trade. What's Trump's endgame in Venezuela? The Pentagon said on Friday that the USS Gerald R Ford carrier would deploy to the US Southern Command area of responsibility, which includes Central America and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The additional forces "will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organisations", spokesman Sean Parnell said. Maduro accused the US of seeking "a new eternal war" in his address. "They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war," he told state media. The carrier's deployment would provide the resources to start conducting strikes against targets on the ground. Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of what he called "land action" in Venezuela, saying earlier this week that the US is "looking at land now" after getting "the sea very well under control". "We stopped all drugs from coming in by sea. I will stop all drugs from coming in by land very shortly. You'll see that starting," he told reporters at the White House on Saturday before departing for a trip to Asia. The US has also bolstered its air presence in the region. BBC Verify has identified a number of US military aircraft across Puerto Rico. It comes as CNN reports Trump is considering targeting cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela, but is yet to make a final decision. Military analysts have pointed out that intercepting drugs at sea does not require a force as big as the current US one.

Watch: The US is "fabricating an eternal war", says Nicolás Maduro

On Friday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said "six male narco-terrorists" had been killed in an operation in the Caribbean. He said the boat had belonged to the Tren de Aragua - a transnational criminal organisation which has its base in Venezuela and has been proscribed as a terrorist group by the US State Department. The US air strikes have drawn condemnation in the region and experts have questioned their legality. "This is about regime change. They're probably not going to invade, the hope is this is about signalling," Dr Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at the Chatham House think tank, told the BBC. He argued the military build-up was intended to "strike fear" into the hearts of the Venezuelan military and Maduro's inner circle so that they move against him.

Pete Hegseth on X The US said it had destroyed a drug trafficking boat earlier on Friday