US Aircraft Carrier Off Venezuela: Just a Friendly Cruise?
The USS Gerald R. Ford, a floating city of firepower, casually sailed near Venezuelan waters, and Newsweek dutifully informs us that Caracas wasn't thrilled. One might almost believe Venezuela was overreacting to a harmless naval exercise. This isn't the first time US naval assets have 'spontaneously appeared' near nations with significant oil reserves or inconveniently socialist leaders. Remember
when President George H.W. Bush deployed thousands of troops to Panama in 1989 to 'restore democracy' (and secure the Canal) shortly after Manuel Noriega stopped cooperating with the CIA? Or the countless 'freedom of navigation' operations near nations whose sovereignty the US finds inconvenient? This isn't a reaction; it's a predictable response to a time-honored tradition of gunboat diplomacy,
updated with stealth fighters and drones. Venezuela, a nation whose economy the US has systematically sanctioned for years (Executive Order 13850, 2018, just one example), is now supposed to cheer a massive symbol of US military might on its doorstep as 'routine.' Because nothing says 'good neighbor' like parking an instrument of war designed to project power thousands of miles from home. How many
aircraft carriers have *Venezuela* sent to patrol off the coast of Florida, one wonders? Oh right, none. But then again, Venezuela isn't trying to destabilize the US government.