The place Is SOUTHCOM? US Navy Command Pressuring Maduro

[ad_1] America Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has considerably ramped up its navy posture within the Caribbean, following President Donald Trump’s counter-narcotics directives. The world’s largest nuclear-powered plane provider, the united statesGerald R. Ford, and the accompanying strike group entered the world of duty of the Fourth Fleet, SOUTHCOM’s naval operational command, on Tuesday.

Why It Issues Observers say these are usually not simply vessels for intercepting drug boats—they're closely armed naval forces able to operations close to coastlines and round islands. This locations stress on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s authorities in one of the vital harmful standoffs between Washington and Caracas in years, although Trump's plans for the South American nation stay unclear.

SOUTHCOM lacks complete bases in South America, which means the U.S. is rebuilding logistics by way of the Caribbean, notably by way of its territory of Puerto Rico—which, together with the Bahamas and the U.S. Virgin Islands within the Caribbean area, falls beneath Northern Command (NORTHCOM)—to undertaking energy.

SOUTHCOM, nonetheless, might function from these territories for regional missions.

What Is SOUTHCOM Space? SOUTHCOM's space of duty covers the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico, the waters adjoining to Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea, a area the U.S. says accounts for roughly one-sixth of the worldwide territory coated by U.S. regional combatant instructions. This consists of 31 nations and 12 territories beneath particular sovereignty.

In Central America, these are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. El Salvador hosts one in all two U.S. Cooperative Safety Places (CSLs) in Latin America, positioned at Comalapa Air Base. In Panama, Washington just lately expanded protection cooperation. In Honduras, the U.S. maintains a long-standing presence at Soto Cano Air Base, however the Honduran authorities has instructed ending this amid tensions over Trump’s immigration insurance policies.

In South America, nations embody Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. Colombia and the U.S. have lengthy cooperated on counter-narcotics and regional safety. Nonetheless, Bogota has expressed concern over U.S. boat strikes, extreme navy buildup within the area and intervention in Venezuela.

Within the Caribbean, the nations coated are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Cuba stands out for its historic adversarial relationship with the U.S.

<img id="11033402" alt="" caption="The world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford seen in the North Sea during NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise on September 24, 2025 in the North Sea." captionoverride="The world's largest aircraft carrier, the "USS Gerald R. Ford" in the North Sea during NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise on September 24, 2025." credit="" sourcealt="" sources="["Getty Images"]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="5534" height="3682" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=640&quality=75&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=750&quality=75&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=1000&quality=75&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=1200&quality=75&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=1360&quality=75&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-2237134699.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1"/> What Individuals Are Saying Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, as quoted by SOUTHCOM Tuesday: “These forces will improve and increase present capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle Transnational Prison Organizations.”

A U.S. official advised The Battle Zone protection web site Friday: “There are website surveys ongoing to see if extra navy property ought to be despatched to the area."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Southern Command advised Newsweek by electronic mail on Wednesday: "Relating to the roles of U.S. property, items, and personnel already in our geographic space of duty, they're straight supporting U.S. Southern Command’s mission, U.S. Division of Battle-directed operations, and the U.S. president’s priorities."

What Occurs Subsequent With Venezuela inserting its armed forces on excessive alert amid rising tensions with the U.S, the scenario enters a crucial part the place any motion might spark direct confrontation.