The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group of the U.S. Navy. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy. Amid speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump might use military force to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's regime, a U.S. Navy carrier strike group has arrived near Venezuela.

The U.S. Navy announced that the Ford carrier strike group entered the U.S. Southern Command's area of operations on the 11th (local time).

The Southern Command's area of operations includes Central and South America south of Mexico, surrounding maritime areas, and the Caribbean Sea.

The carrier strike group was ordered to deploy by President Trump last month to reinforce U.S. military power in the region, which has been conducting military operations against drug cartels.

Previously, President Trump designated Venezuelan drug cartels that smuggle drugs into the U.S. as terrorist organizations and dispatched U.S. military assets to the Caribbean to sink drug trafficking vessels operated by these cartels.

Venezuela strongly protested this, claiming that the expulsion of President Maduro is the true objective of the U.S., further escalating tensions between the two countries.

U.S. media outlets have also reported that the Trump administration is considering various military options for the purpose of overthrowing the Maduro regime.

According to Reuters, the U.S. military has conducted at least 19 airstrikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific since September, killing at least 76 people.

Eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and F-35 fighter jets have already been deployed to this region.

Commissioned in 2017, the Ford is the U.S.'s newest aircraft carrier and is also the largest in the world.

"These forces will enhance and reinforce existing capabilities to interdict drug trafficking and disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations," said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Yonhap News Agency