Pentagon’s largest warship enters Latin American waters as US tensions with Venezuela rise

USS Gerald R Ford's arrival marks the largest US military presence in the region since the invasion of Panama in 1989

The US navy has announced that the USS Gerald R Ford, regarded as the world's newest and largest aircraft carrier, has entered the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command, which covers Latin America and the Caribbean.

The deployment of the ship and the strike group it leads - which includes dozens of aircraft and destroyer ships - had been announced nearly three weeks ago, and its arrival marks an escalation in the military buildup between the US and Venezuela.