First Spy Plane, Now US Navy’s Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier Spotted Off Mexico’s Coast

Days after a US Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft carried out a signals intelligence (SIGINT) operation over cartel-controlled areas in Baja California, the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), was spotted off Mexico’s northern coast on Wednesday afternoon. 

According to Bloomberg ship tracking data, the USS Nimitz is transiting international waters off the coast of Punta Colonet, located in the northern section of Baja California. The vessel is currently underway at a speed of 8.8 knots.

The USS Nimitz has no scheduled port calls, and it remains unclear whether the vessel is involved in the Trump administration’s efforts to combat drug cartels (now labeled “foreign terrorists”) or if it will transit the Panama Canal for deployment elsewhere. 

On Monday, flight tracking data showed a USAF RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft conducted a SIGINT operation near cartel-controlled Baja California Sur. 

Wow, for the first time I have ever seen, a U.S. Air Force RC-135V “Rivet Joint” Signals Intelligence Platform from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, is operating within Mexican Airspace, over the Gulf of California between Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa. pic.twitter.com/ucEDSc4Zxj

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 3, 2025

Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had some strong words for drug cartels.

BREAKING: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just confirmed that the United States could now conduct special operations against Mexican cartels now that President Trump has declared them foreign terrorist organizations.

“All options will be on the table.” pic.twitter.com/UhCvRaGRvJ

— George (@BehizyTweets) January 31, 2025

Trump’s shock weekend tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China were mainly tools to get neighboring countries on board with operations to ”disrupt and dismantle” Mexican drug cartels, as well as prepare for the busting of command and control centers operated by Chinese transnational organized crime networks.

Here’s the latest US Navy fleet tracking map (courtesy of USNI News):  

What’s important to note is that China’s “reverse opium wars” on America, think of it as hybrid warfare, is coming to an abrupt end under Trump.

Whether the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will park itself off the coast of Baja California as a show of force against cartels or is simply transiting the area to access the Panama Canal for deployment elsewhere remains the big question.