Hegseth visits USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in Latin America region

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, including the flagship USS Gerald R. Ford, USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Mahan and USS Bainbridge, sail towards the Caribbean Sea under F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, in the Atlantic Ocean November 13, 2025. U.S. Navy/Petty Officer 3rd Class Gladjimi Balisage/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited sailors on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier stationed in the Latin American region on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's administration undertakes a military buildup that has deepened tensions with Venezuela.

The Pentagon posted a video showing Hegseth speaking into a public address system, wishing all those aboard a happy Thanksgiving and saying he was praying for the two National Guard soldiers who were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

U.S. troops have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of Latin America since September, killing at least 83 people.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the U.S. buildup is designed to drive him from power.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Nia Williams)