Venezuela’s defense minister announced Monday that the country’s armed forces have been placed on heightened alert and ordered into “complete operational readiness” as the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, arrived in Caribbean waters, a move that deepens a growing tension between Caracas and Washington.
In a brief statement, Gen. Vladimir Padrino López said the escalation implements “a superior phase” of the government’s “Plan Independencia 200,” a military response ordered in September to bolster defenses amid increased US activity in the region. The measure, which will be effective between November 11–12, calls for the mass deployment of land, air, naval, riverine, and missile assets as well as the mobilization of the Bolivarian Militia, security agencies, and Integrative Defense Commands, the statement said.
The Pentagon confirmed the Gerald Ford’s arrival but did not disclose the ship’s precise location, saying the carrier will assist efforts to “interdict narcotics trafficking and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.” US forces have carried out multiple strikes at sea this year, including at least 19 strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and off Pacific coasts in Latin America, actions that the Venezuelan government and some regional leaders have condemned after reports that civilians were killed.
🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪 U.S. CARRIER STRIKE GROUP DEPLOYS AS VENEZUELA STANDOFF INTENSIFIES
— WAR (@warsurveillance) November 11, 2025
The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is heading into the Caribbean, signaling a major power move by U.S. Southern Command. The deployment includes destroyers, submarines, and Marine expeditionary… pic.twitter.com/rDzhR1IPyv
Venezuela’s army stronger than ever, Maduro says
President Nicolás Maduro’s government framed the heightened alert as a defensive measure. “The divisions of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces are more strengthened than ever in their unity, moral cohesion, and equipment, together with the Venezuelan people, to preserve at all costs the sacred interests of the country,” Padrino said, invoking the government’s longstanding call for a “perfect civic-military-police fusion.”
The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) approved preparations “to move to an armed phase of the revolutionary process” should hostilities break out, language that was tempered by repeated calls for peace from senior officials even as the administration warned of the prospect of US aggression. In recent days, Maduro told supporters that “the order is given, if the country is attacked, we will declare a general strike, insurrectional and revolutionary,” and framed the working class as Venezuela’s chief shield against what he called imperialist threats.
The military’s show of unity comes after a period in which Venezuela’s armed forces have repeatedly expressed loyalty to the Maduro government, even as some Venezuelans greeted the alert with skepticism and concern rather than panic. Analysts say the government is using the episode to reinforce internal cohesion and to send a message to foreign powers.
Colombia’s President Urges Protection of Venezuela Against Despotism
The developments in Caracas coincided with a call by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, speaking from Santa Marta, Colombia at a CELAC-European Union summit, for a renewed political project harking back to the early 19th century, the restoration of “La Gran Colombia.” Petro suggested that Latin American nations should consider rethinking regional ties in the face of what he described as recent acts of “despotism” and aggression in the Caribbean, and urged that any revival emerge from popular, citizen-driven processes rather than from the whims of sitting governments.
“Is it not time then to speak again of Gran Colombia?” Petro asked, proposing the formation of constituent committees across the countries that once made up the union. He described La Gran Colombia as the historical political union of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama, and framed a confederation as a way to strengthen the Bolivarian legacy and face common challenges.
Petro argued the project should grow “from society” through constituent assemblies and not be contingent on the political will of any single president. He said such an arrangement could allow the region to reform constitutions and build a confederation capable of confronting shared threats, a rhetorical response to recent maritime incidents in which civilians were killed during operations in the Caribbean.
Military buildup near Venezuela is a countermeasure to international criminal networks, US says
The US deployment and the Venezuelan countermeasures underscore rising tensions in a hemisphere already roiled by disputes over drug interdiction operations, migration, and geopolitical influence.
Washington has pointed to transnational criminal networks and drug trafficking as justifications for stepped-up maritime and law-enforcement activity. Caracas and some regional leaders like President Petro have decried what they call the unilateral use of force that risks civilian lives and regional stability.
As the standoff plays out, Venezuelan authorities ordered heightened readiness across armed and civilian security forces, while Colombian and regional leaders weigh diplomatic responses to both the US actions at sea and Petro’s call for deeper political integration. The immediate impact on maritime operations and diplomatic ties remained uncertain as governments continued to trade statements and monitor activity in the Caribbean.
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