The United States has deployed a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and six other ships against Florida in crisis with Venezuela

The United States Navy has deployed a group of attacks with an aircraft carrier (CSG) in the Atlantic Ocean and off the coast of Florida, in full political crisis in Venezuela, a country divided between Nicolás Maduro's regime government and opposition Juan Guaidó, recently proclaimed interim president.

A fleet consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Abrahm Lincoln (CVN-72), a missile cruiser and four destroyers, as well as a Spanish Navy frigate invited to participate, began the COMPTUEX exercises on January 25 designed to refine the training before a military deployment.

"GSGs have multiplatform capabilities for operate where and when needed. In addition to having the flexibility and durability necessary to wage large-scale wars and guarantee the freedom of the seas, theCSGs are visible and powerful symbols of the US commitment to their allies, partners and friends.", noted an official press release from the US Navy.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and his escort left the port of Norfolk, in the state of Virginia, to begin exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, where this training usually takes place.

Although their current location and the fate of their deployment are unknown, the consulting firms specializing in military affairs Stratfor and South side have located the GSG in an Atlantic point off the coast of the state of Florida.

In addition to the aircraft carrier, which has just come out of a long period of modernization that has brought it to spend years at the port, the Ticonderoga USS Leyte Gulf missile cruiser and the Arleigh Burke clbad destroyers USS Bainbridge, USS Gonzalez, USS Mason and USS Nite were deployed. The ship of the Spanish Navy is the ESPS Méndez Núñez.

On board the USS Abraham Lincoln, the Nimitz-clbad nuclear aircraft carrier operates Embarked Air Squadron (CVW) 7, andwith the Lockheed F-35C Lightning II, the most advanced fighter-bomber in the US arsenal.

Ships and aircraft participated in the CompTUEX Compound training exercise, which aims to integrate different units of the same group and attest to their ability to initiate a deployment. The process usually lasts about a month and was launched on January 25th. In recent days it has been reported that the group had attempted a crossing of straits, a necessary maneuver to enter the Caribbean Sea.

The difficult context in Venezuela

Although their final destination and mission are unknown, the exercise and deployment take place in the middle of a very serious deterioration of the political situation in Venezuelaafter the opposition leader in January Juan Guaidó was proclaimed interim president by the National Assembly in order to lead a transition of power and call for free elections.

The legislature has been controlled by the opposition since the 2015 elections, but the chavista regime of Nicolás Maduro declared it with contempt, leaving it effectively helpless.

In this context, Maduro, who was reelected president 2018 during a controversial election marked by repression of opponents, accusations of fraud and a very low turnout, rejected the Guaidó designation and clung to power.

The situation has divided the international community. The United States, Canada, the European Union and most Latin American countries have recognized Guaidó under the legitimate power of the National Assembly and have called for a transition.

In turn, they started sending humanitarian aid to the country, affected by hyperinflation, huge poverty, unprecedented levels of violence, drastic declines in GDP and a generalized deterioration of the social situation that worsened with the arrival in power of Maduro in 2014, which generated an unprecedented exodus. The Chavez regime, however, rejected this humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, Maduro maintains Chavismo's control over the Venezuelan armed forces and got support from Russia, China, Turkey and Iran, among other countries.

A third number of countries, led by Mexico, called for the resumption of dialogue between the opposition and the government, although the previous process initiated in 2014 with the participation of the Vatican and the mediation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), today practically without power, have ended in failure.

Since then The threat of a situation that degenerates into an armed conflict between states, into a civil war or an uncontrolled increase in violence has increased. In this regard, Colombia and Brazil, which share the border with Venezuela and are the first destination of mbad exodus of Venezuelans seeking to flee difficult conditions, have strengthened security in the region and the United States. United states that they do not exclude military option.