Oct. 24 (UPI) -- The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is headed to the Caribbean Sea to escalate the nation's military presence amid strikes on alleged drug-running vessels.

WASHINGTON >> The U.S. military killed six people on a boat suspected of smuggling drugs from South America, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today, as the Trump administration’s lethal and legally disputed campaign continued to escalate.

WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump dramatically escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean today by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, a show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents Washington’s most muscular move yet in the region.

The Trump administration has acknowledged 10 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats from South America, which have killed 43 people.

The U.S. increases military presence in South America with an aircraft carrier group amid rising tensions with Venezuela.

President Donald Trump’s administration escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by announcing the deployment of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America — a show of force far beyond any past counter-narcotics effort and Washington’s most assertive move in the region yet. The deployment,…

The Trump administration escalated a military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by announcing the deployment of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America.

The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, in the latest escalation and buildup of military forces in the region.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump dramatically escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, a show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents Washington’s most muscular move yet in the Latin America region. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The military's deployment of the carrier strike group is a notable escalation of U.S. policy in the region as Trump has promised to target more cartel members.

The move is likely to raise concern in the region about the Trump administration’s intent. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy to U.S. Southern Command.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The US military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, in the latest escalation and buildup of military forces in the region, the Pentagon announced Friday. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the US military conducted its 10th strike on a vessel suspected of carrying drugs overnight, killing six people and bringing the death toll of the campaign against drug cartels...

WASHINGTON: A US strike against an alleged drug vessel killed six suspected "narco-terrorists" in the Caribbean, United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Friday (Oct 24), the latest operation in President Donald Trump's

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro asserted Friday the United States was "fabricating a war" as Washington sent an aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, building up a military deployment there.

The order follows President Donald Trump’s decision in early September to launch a targeted military campaign against vessels allegedly used for narcotics smuggling.