The Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, which includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has arrived in the Caribbean Sea, joining what has already been the biggest buildup of U.S. forces in the Western Hemisphere in decades.

The U.S. military has carried out a campaign of lethal strikes on purported drug smuggling vessels over the last two months, and its increasing presence and firepower in the region have fueled speculation that it could mount operations on Venezuelan soil.