A Traveling Open House To Meet With Foreign Partners

The USS Nimitz has hosted numerous Latin American officials, beginning soon after the carrier departed from Bremerton and after it was underway in the 4th Fleet area of operations.

The first time was on March 24, when USS Nimitz passed by the Pacific coast of Mexico, where she hosted a group of VIP guests from the Mexican government and military, accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ron Johnson.

Two days later, on March 26, El Salvadoran Minister of Defense Adm. Rene Merino and Chief of Defense Vice Adm. Exon Ascencio toured the carrier and observed flight deck operations. Later that same day, Guatemalan Minister of National Defense Gen. Henry Saenz Ramos also visited the ship with other military and civilian officials.

It was followed on March 28 by a visit of Panamanian senior government officials, including Luis Felipe Icaza, vice minister of Public Security, and Carlos Hoyos Boyd, vice minister of Foreign Affairs. They were joined by Kevin Marino Cabrera, the U.S. Ambassador to Panama.

USS Nimitz anchored in the Gulf of Panama, marking the first time a United States Navy aircraft carrier had visited Panamanian waters in more than 50 years. CVN-68 participated in joint training with the Panamanian Security Forces.

A week later, in early April, USS Nimitz and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG-101) conducted bilateral maritime exercises with the Ecuadorian Navy. The carrier then hosted a visit of Ecuadorian government and military leaders, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabriela Sommerfeld, Minister of Defense Giancarlo Loffredo, and Chief of Defense Gen. Henry Delgado. U.S. Charge d’Affaires a.i. in Ecuador Lawrence Petroni accompanied the delegation.

The Carrier That Has Welcomed Multiple Presidents

Although USS Nimitz is one of the U.S. Navy’s active carriers not named for a U.S. president, during its current underway from Bremerton to Norfolk, CVN-68 has already hosted three foreign leaders, including Chilean President José Antonio Kast while the ship was anchored in Valparaiso.

Before arrival in Chile, the USS Nimitz also participated in a bilateral engagement with the Chilean Air Force in the Pacific. During the port visit, Adm. Norman and Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet, were joined by Rear Adm. Jorge Castillo, Chilean Navy fleet commander, at a wreath laying ceremony at Valparaiso’s Héroes de Iquique monument in historic Plaza Sotomayor.

Last week, CVN-68 transited the Strait of Magellan into the Atlantic Ocean, and that was followed by a visit from Argentinean President Javier Milei while the carrier remained at sea. The Argentinean leader was joined by Secretary General of the Presidency Karina Milei, Ministers Pablo Quirno and Alejandra Monteoliva, and General Carlos Presti, along with other senior members of his administration and representatives of Argentina’s armed forces, and U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas.

“The USS Nimitz represents the pinnacle of American naval engineering, and today it serves as a platform for showcasing the ironclad partnership between the United States and Argentina,” said Ambassador Lamelas in a media statement. “President Milei’s presence reminds us that we are in a new era of bilateral relationship, moving beyond mere cooperation and toward a deep, strategic alignment that meets the challenges of the 21st century head-on.”

While in the region, CVN-68 took part in training drills with the Argentine Navy. It marked the first time a U.S. Navy carrier has conducted joint operations with the South American nation since the Gringo-Gaucho 2024 exercises off Mar del Plata that featured the USS George Washington (CVN-73), during her homeport shift from Norfolk following the carrier’s refueling to San Diego and then to Yokosuka, Japan.

Last Saturday, Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi led a delegation of top government and military officials, becoming the latest VIP group to tour USS Nimitz. Following the visit, President Orsi acknowledged he was impressed with the supercarrier.

“It is something very unknown. Beyond what you see on television or in movies, there is no other contact,” Orsi said after the visit in an interview with local media. “It is a technology and a way of conceiving defense quite different from what we have, from the infrastructure we have here, but also from the geopolitical vision or the dimension of the thing.”

Additional VIP Visits Likely

In the coming days and weeks, USS Nimitz is scheduled to make further port visits to Brazil and Jamaica, where it will likely welcome local officials at each stop. In addition, the U.S. Navy’s oldest operational carrier is expected to conduct maritime joint operations with Colombia.

As CVN-68 continues her long journey northward, other international delegations from Latin American or Caribbean nations may be welcomed aboard.

Given that USS Nimitz isn’t likely to depart from Norfolk for another deployment or even sail in foreign waters again, this is the final opportunity for America’s partners to say goodbye to the supercarrier that has sailed the world for more than five decades.

51 Years Of Service

This month also marked the 51st anniversary of CVN-68’s commissioning.

Although she initially was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and operated from Naval Station Norfolk, before being transferred to the Pacific and homeported at San Diego, she spent the majority of the past five decades as the “Pacific Northwest’s Carrier,” based out of Naval Base Kitsap.

USS Nimitz completed her final global deployment in December. She is now expected to arrive at Norfolk by the end of May, which could mark the end of a more than five-decade-long career.