A vast US naval buildup in the Caribbean that culminated in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is estimated to have cost nearly $3 billion since August, according to Bloomberg calculations. The operation, dubbed Southern Spear, at one point involved about a fifth of the Navy’s surface fleet, with the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group alone costing more than $11 million a day to operate. The Trump administration has argued that the deployment did not require additional taxpayer funds because the forces were already budgeted and active elsewhere. However, analysts say the intensified tempo, munitions use and personnel allowances add significant incremental costs and strain future defense budgets. Lawmakers from both parties have said the Pentagon has yet to provide detailed cost estimates, as ships are now being redirected to other global flashpoints.
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A vast US naval buildup in the Caribbean that culminated in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is estimated to have cost nearly $3 billion since August, according to Bloomberg calculations. The operation, dubbed Southern Spear, at one point involved about a fifth of the Navy’s surface fleet, with the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group alone costing more than $11 million a day to operate. The Trump administration has argued that the deployment did not require additional taxpayer funds because the forces were already budgeted and active elsewhere. However, analysts say the intensified tempo, munitions use and personnel allowances add significant incremental costs and strain future defense budgets. Lawmakers from both parties have said the Pentagon has yet to provide detailed cost estimates, as ships are now being redirected to other global flashpoints.