U.S. sends aircraft carrier to South America in major escalation of military firepower

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a roundtable on criminal cartels with President Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday.

The deployment and the quickening pace of U.S. strikes, including one Friday, raised new speculation about how far the Trump administration may go in operations it says are targeted at drug trafficking.

(Image credit: Evan Vucci)