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An image captured by the Sentinel 2 satellite confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has adjusted its area of operations and has moved into the central Caribbean, positioning itself closer to Venezuela than in previous days.
Satellite records obtained this Friday, December 12, indicated that the largest nuclear aircraft carrier of the United States was located approximately 380 miles (about 611 kilometers) south-southwest of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, marking its furthest southward movement since entering the Caribbean theater of operations, reported the digital portal La Patilla.
The discovery was reported by the open-source intelligence analyst identified as @MT_Anderson, who emphasized that this is the southernmost location detected so far for the USS Gerald R. Ford within the Caribbean basin.
The image also allowed for the identification of at least one Arleigh Burke-class destroyer sailing alongside the CVN-78, although the dense cloud cover prevented a full assessment of the escort group accompanying the aircraft carrier.
The repositioning of the strike group placed the U.S. fleet directly in the central Caribbean, significantly reducing flight times to the northern coast of South America and expanding its operational range.
This movement coincided with previous reports of F/A-18E Super Hornet fighters operating north of the ABC islands, a circumstance that strengthens the aircraft carrier's air projection capability from its new location, closer to Venezuela's maritime boundaries.
In the midst of the escalation of tensions between Caracas and Washington, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López issued a direct warning to the United States this Friday, following the overflight of U.S. military aircraft near the state of Zulia.
“Don't be mistaken, we know how to defend Venezuelan airspace,” assuring that the Bolivarian Armed Forces are ready to respond to what he termed “provocations from the Pentagon,” Padrino stated during a military event broadcasted on state television.
Also this Friday, it was reported that the United States' offensive against the Venezuelan oil industry has entered a more aggressive phase, as it plans to seize more vessels as part of a campaign to financially destabilize Maduro's government.
According to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, cited by the news portal Infobae, this strike impacts chavismo more deeply than attacks on vessels linked to drug trafficking, as it jeopardizes the oil flow upon which the government's survival depends.
The seizure of a massive tanker loaded with Venezuelan crude off the coast of Venezuela has become the most symbolic episode to date in the struggle between Washington, Caracas, and Havana.
The operation, presented by President Donald Trump as the capture of "the largest tanker ever seized" by the United States, combines a military message, an economic blow, and a direct warning to the network of vessels that supports the sanctioned flow of oil to Cuba and other destinations.
Since September 2, 2025, the United States has intensified a military offensive in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, with the alleged goal of combating drug trafficking and "narcoterrorism".
The operation named "Southern Lance" has intensified pressure on Caracas with a naval blockade and daily air operations to intercept vessels supposedly linked to narcotics.
However, the Maduro government, some of whose officials are accused by Washington of having alleged links to drug trafficking, interprets this deployment as an attempt to instigate a regime change in Venezuela.
These attacks have resulted in the destruction of 23 boats and the deaths of 87 people, in a series of operations that have drawn criticism for the lack of publicly verifiable evidence and the use of military force in scenarios without a formal declaration of war.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the actions as "violations of international law" and has demanded an end to extrajudicial executions at sea.
Moreover, lawmakers and human rights organizations in the United States have questioned the legality of the operations conducted without judicial oversight and outside U.S. territory.
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