The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, will arrive in the northern Caribbean on Sunday as tensions with Venezuela grow, according to a U.S. military official. The carrier will join 15,000 service members, including 2,000 Marines aboard an amphibious assault ship.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told NPR the "table is being set" for possible military action. Administration officials are continuing to hold high-level meetings with members of Congress and foreign leaders amid ongoing military exercises.
It remains unclear, however, if President Trump will use military force against Venezuela. The U.S. has conducted 20 strikes on boats in the region so far, saying they were ferrying drugs trafficked from the country. In August, the U.S. government set a $50 million reward for the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
But officials told NPR that the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford, which was pulled from the Mediterranean Sea, could be just another pressure tactic on Maduro, who has put his own forces on high alert.
On Friday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, "I sort of made up my mind" about whether to launch an attack.
"I can't tell you what it is," he said, "but we made a lot of progress with Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs from pouring in."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday on social media that a "mission" was under way called "Operation Southern Spear."
"This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people," he wrote. "The Western Hemisphere is America's neighborhood and we will protect it."
The increased activity comes after the high-profile resignation last month of U.S. four-star Adm. Alvin Holsey, who had been overseeing the boat strikes. He abruptly left his post two years early. Pentagon sources told NPR they believe it was because he objected to the assaults on the alleged drug boats, which have so far killed 80 people, and struck boats that did not appear to be showing any immediate hostile intent.
NPR's Tom Bowman and Quil Lawrence contributed to this report.
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