The United States’ most advanced aircraft carrier has arrived in the Caribbean Sea in a flex of military power by the President Donald Trump administration, as it raises pressure on Venezuela and prompts questions about what the influx of troops and armoury could portend.

The arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford and other warships, announced by the US Navy in a statement on Sunday, marks a potentially pivotal moment in what the administration has pitched as a counterdrug operation, but is seen in many quarters as an aggressive push against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The US has been conducting military strikes on vessels the administration alleges are transporting drugs. In recent months, the campaign has carried out about 20 strikes in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coasts of

See Full Page