The U.S. government has ordered 10 F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico as tensions mount with Venezuela.
Reuters reported Friday that the aircraft were deployed to an unspecified airfield in Puerto Rico to support operations against drug cartels. It was not immediately clear what branch of the military they are from or exactly how they will be used.
The War Zone, a defense news website, confirmed that the F-35s will arrive on the island early next week, citing a source familiar with the White House’s new counter-narcotics campaign.
The deployment comes one day after two Venezuelan F-16s flew close to the guided missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham, which is now in the Caribbean.
The Defense Department called the move “highly provocative.”
“The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The strained relationship between Washington and Caracas has worsened over the last month as President Donald Trump makes combating drug trafficking a major focus of his second administration. The White House contends that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is deeply involved in the illegal transportation of drugs, specifically cocaine and fentanyl, to the U.S.
In August, the administration ordered warships to the Caribbean, near the Venezuelan coast, and doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture from $25 million to $50 million. In response, Maduro activated Venezuela’s national militia.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy carried out an airstrike on a small boat in the southern Caribbean that the White House claims was operated by Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal organization with roots in Venezuela. The administration said 11 gang members were killed and shared video of the strike from multiple angles.
The U.S. government has not yet provided any evidence that the boat was used for drug trafficking.
Both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have said military operations against drug cartels in Venezuela will continue.
