The arrival near Latin America of the US Navy’s “most lethal combat platform” has put the spotlight on a fighting force that has a tough image but has been weakened by years of economic crisis.

The U.S. military conducted its 20th lethal strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Monday, killing four “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean Sea, a Pentagon official,

The briefing came as the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group entered the region and U.S. forces intensified recent strikes on vessels accused of drug smuggling.

The memorandum outlining the Space Force’s new nomenclature was signed in 2023 by then-Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, who was the branch’s chief strategy and resource officer at the time. Bratton is now a four-star general serving as vice chief of space operations, the No. 2 uniformed position in the Space Force.

The US military deployment in the Caribbean is receiving logistical and diplomatic support from multiple Latin American countries, ranging from limited assistance to open cooperation with to US forces.

Venezuelan opposition groups, NGOs, Washington and some Latin American governments have accused Maduro's administration and the Venezuelan military of ties to drug trafficking, especially in the country's west, where Colombian guerrilla groups like the National Liberation Army operate and coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, is widely cultivated.

The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources.