Arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford in Venezuela: a demonstration of force that changes the regional game – Rezazade

The US aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford is approaching the coast of Venezuela - the most powerful and technological in the US fleet. Its appearance in the Caribbean Sea is a marker of a deep strategic shift, and not just part of operations against drug trafficking, as Washington claims.

The first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, international expert Ali Reza Rezazade, assesses the situation as “the most serious demonstration of the American military presence in Latin America in several decades.”

According to him, the appearance of an aircraft carrier of this class near Venezuela indicates that the Trump administration is considering force scenarios to influence the regime of Nicolas Maduro. “An aircraft carrier of this level is not sent just for patrolling. This is a political signal tool: the US is ready to resort to coercive methods if diplomatic and economic pressure does not yield results,” Rezazadeh emphasizes. He emphasizes that this decision raises the conflict between Washington and Caracas to a new, much more dangerous level.

According to the expert, Washington is demonstrating its readiness to create conditions in which Maduro will be forced to either make political concessions or face a direct threat of forceful pressure. “The emergence of Gerald Ford means that the US no longer perceives the Maduro regime as a regional problem. They treat it as a threat that requires a strategic response, including a forceful option,” Rezazade notes.

He explains that the situation around Venezuela is part of Trump’s broader game to restore US dominance in Latin America, where China, Russia, and a number of authoritarian regimes have increased their influence in recent years. “The return of American military power to Latin America is not a local action. This is a strategic message to all the regimes in the region, including Cuba and Nicaragua. Washington is showing that it has returned as a forceful arbiter,” the expert says.

Rezazade also warns that the situation is at a point of potential instability. Any incident — from Venezuelan forces, allied regimes, or American units — could trigger a rapid escalation. “In a region where there is a historical distrust of the United States, the appearance of such an aircraft carrier is perceived as a direct threat. One mistake, one ill-considered gesture — and the tension could turn into an open conflict,” he emphasizes.

According to the analyst, the American aircraft carrier off the coast of Venezuela is a sign that Latin America is once again becoming a site of geopolitical confrontation between great powers, in which Washington is trying to regain positions lost over the past decades.