The United States (US) is deploying an aircraft carrier group to the Latin America region. This is as it escalates its counter-narcotics efforts in the region.

The US has taken a number of strikes against alleged drug vessels, mostly in the Caribbean, killing an estimated 40 people.

UN human rights experts have described the actions as extrajudicial killings and in violation of international law.

The build-up comes after US President Donald Trump hinted at land-based strikes in Venezuela, targeting drug cartels.

The latest deployment of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group is a major escalation, the largest aircraft carrier in the world and comes in addition to an existing presence of some 6 000 troops already stationed in the region.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that the strike group would be in support of the President’s directive to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organisations and counter narco-terrorism.

He said the deployment would bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland.