Venezuela mobilizes 200,000 troops as U.S. carrier enters Caribbean

On Nov. 13-14, 2025, Venezuelan Defense Minister VPVladimir Padrino Lopez announced 200,000 troops had been placed on maximum operational readiness. The mobilization — ground, air, naval, riverine, and missile forces — was the largest Venezuela had conducted in more than 20 years.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group from Europe to the Caribbean on Nov. 11, 2025. The strike group brought nine air squadrons, guided missile destroyers USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, and more than 4,000 sailors.

Hegseth formally named the campaign 'Operation Southern Spear' on Nov. 13, 2025

Its stated mission was detecting, disrupting, and degrading transnational criminal and illicit maritime networks

The U.S Navy had used the same name for a counter-narcotics operation since January 2025.

By mid-November 2025, the U.S. had approximately 15,000 military personnel in the Caribbean region — over 4,000 on the Ford strike group, about 5,000 in Puerto Rico, plus 10 F-35 jets and at least three MQ-9 Reaper drones.

Retired Admiral JSJames Stavridis, former head of U.S. Southern Command, said publicly that the buildup was 'not about drugs' and identified intimidating Maduro as the real goal. Some Trump administration officials privately confirmed the operation was aimed at regime change.

Reuters and other outlets reported roughly 20 U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean had killed approximately 80 people by mid-November 2025. Those counts remained disputed and under review.

On Dec. 11, 2025, the U.S. began intercepting and seizing crude oil tankers carrying Venezuelan oil. Trump ordered a formal naval blockade of sanctioned vessels on Dec. 17. Special forces launched from the USS Gerald Ford seized a tanker off Venezuela on Dec. 10.

On Jan. 3, 2026, the U.S. captured Venezuelan President NMNicolás Maduro in 'Operation Absolute Resolve.' A U.S. Navy blockade remained in place after his capture.

Venezuela's Independence Plan 200, activated by Maduro in September 2025, combined conventional military readiness with a 'non-armed struggle phase' and the mobilization of 8 million Bolivarian militia members and reservists.

Russia has sold Venezuela over $11 billion in weapons since 2001. Venezuela displayed Russian-supplied TOR-M2E surface-to-air missiles and ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns during its November 2025 mobilization.