Key Points and Summary – Five U.S. F-35s landed at Puerto Rico’s Roosevelt Roads base as part of a ten-jet buildup President Trump announced for the Caribbean, following a U.S. strike that sank a Venezuelan boat Washington called a drug-smuggling vessel. Another was also targeted yesterday.
-Reuters photographed the first arrivals; helicopters and Ospreys were also seen, and “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth recently visited the island.
Two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft, with the F-35 Demonstration Team, approach a U.S. Air Force KC-135 for in-flight refueling en route to their next airshow at Pensacola, Florida, on 28 October, 2024. The F-35 Demo Team travels to various bases to showcase the capabilities of the most advanced 5th generation fighter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nicholas Rupiper)
-Trump denies seeking regime change but warned “we’ll see” on strikes inside Venezuela, which flew two F-16s over a U.S. destroyer after the incident.
-Caracas says the sunk craft from last week was a tuna boat. The deployment widens a long-running U.S.–Venezuela standoff over drugs, security, and Maduro’s rule.
Five F-35 Fighters land in Puerto Rico
United States President Donald Trump last week announced a military buildup in the Caribbean, which will include ten fighter jets. This update followed the military strike earlier this month that sank a Venezuelan boat, which the White House and State Department claimed was smuggling drugs. Another was targeted just yesterday.
On Sunday, the first of those jets arrived, with five F-35s seen landing at Roosevelt Roads military base in Puerto Rico, Reuters reported, after a contract photographer with the news agency spotted them.
US helicopters and Osprey aircraft have also been spotted at the base, Reuters reported. At the same time, “Secretary of War” (still officially recognized as Secretary of State) Pete Hegseth recently visited the island, along with a top general.
Trump has denied that the US is seeking regime change in the South American country, although Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro has implied the opposite in public comments in recent weeks. Maduro also stated that the boat was a tuna fishing vessel, crewed by “humble” fishermen. All 11 men on board were killed in the attack.
Venezuela has F-16 fighter jets, two of which they flew over a US Navy destroyer days after the boat attack, per The BBC.
“They’re Sending … Drugs”
When asked by a reporter this weekend whether the US might “start doing strikes on mainland Venezuela,” Trump replied, “We’ll see what happens.”
The president also declared that Venezuela had been “sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs,” and argued that drug traffic in the region had been reduced since the “first strike,” in what was presumably a reference to the deadly boat strike.
A History of Tension
The US and Venezuela have been at odds for many years, going back to the regime of Hugo Chavez, which began in 1999 and continued until Chavez died in 2013; Chavez accused the US of responsibility for a failed coup attempt in 2002.
Maduro succeeded Chavez that year. He went on to win disputed elections in both 2019 and 2024, with the US for several years recognizing Maduro’s 2019 opponent, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s rightful president, until the Biden Administration dropped that claim in early 2023.
Regime Change?
Trump has traditionally not been supportive of full-on wars for regime change, having risen in politics making claims of opposition to the Iraq War that many of his 2016 Republican opponents had supported.
The president, earlier this month, had played down the possibility of a US regime change war.
“We’re not talking about that,” the president said on September 5. However, CNN reported at the time that Trump was “weighing a multitude of options,” which included weakening Maduro to instead focusing on striking drug cartels.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an active opponent of the Maduro regime when he was a senator, and especially after the 2019 election, met with Venezuelan opposition figures in May, a group of people who, per the State Department, “escaped from the Argentine ambassador’s residence in Caracas, where they had been forced to shelter under the protection of the Brazilian government to avoid persecution from the illegitimate Maduro regime,” Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at the time.
An F-35A Lightning II banks away from an F-22 Raptor Feb. 6, 2020, near the Hawaiian Islands. F-35 Airmen from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., temporarily relocated to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, to join other flying squadrons in exercise Pacific Raptor. Every training mission of the exercise was carried out by total-force teams from the Air Force’s Active, Reserve and Air National Guard components. (courtesy photo)
A Failed Invasion
In May 2020, an American Green Beret-turned mercenary named Jordan Goudreau launched an ill-fated coup attempt off the coast of Venezuela, claiming the support of figures from the first Trump Administration and from the Venezuelan opposition.
The mission failed, leading to the deaths of many Venezuelans, the capture of two of Goudreau’s fellow former Green Berets, and federal weapons-smuggling charges for Goudreau.
The episode was the subject of a 2024 documentary film called Men at War, directed by Billy Corben and Jen Gatien, which described the mission as “Rambo meets Fyre Fest.” The film was released on video-on-demand channels last week.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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