U.S. sending world's largest aircraft carrier to Latin America

• U.S. Southern Command (USSouthCom) covers the Caribbean Sea, the waters adjacent to South and Central America, as well as the "land mass south of Mexico," according to its website.

Context: The USS Ford had been operating in the Mediterranean Sea before reassignment, multiple outlets reported.

• It's unclear when the Ford will be headed to the region or where exactly it will be stationed.
• The Navy told the New York Times that it could take between 7 and 10 days for the USS Ford to arrive for its new mission, depending on weather conditions.

The Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean have drawn attention in recent weeks as the Trump administration has carried out a military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking operations that have killed at least 43 people to date.

• Little information has been shared publicly regarding the strikes beyond Hegseth and President Trump announcing they've occurred, which has prompted some members of Congress to raise concerns about the secrecy surrounding the strikes.

Yes, but: at least one GOP committee chair has declined to hold a hearing on the issue.

What they're saying: The U.S. military's increased presence will "bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," Parnell said on X.

• When asked Friday about putting U.S. troops on the ground in Venezuela, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller said, "These are terrorists, and they're gonna be killed," backing up Trump and Hegseth's promise during a Thursday Homeland Security roundtable to "kill" the alleged drug traffickers.

What we're watching: If tensions escalate further between the U.S. and Venezuela, whose authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro remains under a $50 million bounty.

• Trump's relationship with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist ally of Maduro, has also faltered as Petro alleged Colombian citizens were killed in a recent strike aimed.