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THE USS Gerald R Ford yesterday steamed into the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility, bringing with it 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft.

The Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group, led by the USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78), arrived in the region on Tuesday morning according to the US Navy, on the direction of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as part of what the US claims is an effort to dismantle transnational criminal organisations and counter narco-terrorism.

While its exact location has not yet been confirmed, Southcom’s area of responsibility includes the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico, the waters adjacent to Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.