Venezuela 
US-Venezuela tensions have skyrocketted in recent weeks as US built up a large naval and air presence in the Caribbean Sea in what initially started as a force to conduct strikes on claimed drug traffickers.
However, the forces the US has in theater are far beyond what would be required for simple strikes on unarmed boats the size of a fishing vessel, and this has led to speculation that the United States is preparing for something bigger such as strikes on Venezuela.
In recent days, the United States has also ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group from its deployment in the Mediterranean to the Carribean region.
So far, the following US Navy vessels are deployed:
- USS Iwo Jima
- USS San Antonio
- USS Stockdale
- USS Jason Dunham
- USS Gravely
- USS Lake Erie
- USS Wichita
- USS Gettysburg
- USS Newport News
- MV Ocean Trader special operations support ship
Latest update:
US force build-up in SOUTHCOM off Venezuela is enormous. Over 20% of the deployed US Navy fleet is now here.
USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78) | Carrier USS Mahan (DDG-72) | Destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) | Destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) | Destroyer
Other Destroyers & Cruisers
USS Gettysburg (CG-64) USS Lake Erie (CG-70) USS Stockdale (DDG-106) USS Gravely (DDG-107)
Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group
USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) USS San Antonio (LPD-17) USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28)
Other Vessels
MV Ocean Trader (Special Operations Support Vessel** 2 naval resupply ships USNS Kanawha and USNS Patuxent USS Wichita (LCS-13) 2 Unknown submarines 5 US Coast Guard cutters deployed to Puerto Rico
Aircraft Deployments
10 F-35Bs of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225 (VMFA-225) @ Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico 3 P-8 Poseidons @ Puerto Rico & El Salvador 6 MQ-9 drones in Puerto Rico & El Salvador 1 AC-130 Gunship rotating between El Salvador & Puerto Rico
A trio of U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers was tracked flying orbits in international airspace off the coast of Venezuela earlier today. This is a major show of force that comes amid a larger U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, ostensibly aimed at stemming the flow of illegal drugs north. At the same time, the Trump administration has been focusing particular pressure on the regime of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, and the possibility of direct military action, beyond at times lethal maritime interdiction operations, has been steadily growing.
The three B-52s, with the calligns BUNNY01, BUNNY02, and BUNNY03, were tracked leaving Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and heading south early this morning. The bombers subsequently turned east and flew to a patch of international airspace within what Venezuela refers to as the Maiquetía Flight Information Region (FIR).