US Military Leaders Visit Puerto Rico Amid Caribbean Cartel Operations

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Puerto Rico amid an intensification of U.S. military operations targeting drug cartels in the Caribbean under President Donald Trump's administration. Their visit coincides with ongoing training exercises involving hundreds of U.S. Marines and plans to deploy 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to strengthen efforts against narcotics trafficking, particularly connected to Venezuela and the gang Tren de Aragua. Puerto Rico's Governor Jenniffer González expressed gratitude for the administration's recognition of Puerto Rico's strategic importance in national security and support for America First policies combating drug cartels and the Venezuelan government under Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. labels a narco-dictator. Hegseth addressed nearly 300 soldiers at the Muñiz Air National Guard Base, praising them as 'American warriors' and affirming their preparedness. The escalation follows a recent U.S. military strike on a vessel off Venezuela suspected of carrying narcotics, marking a rare direct military action in the Caribbean region. These developments have sparked some local criticism of the increased militarization in Puerto Rico but underscore the administration’s commitment to a maximum pressure campaign against drug trafficking networks in Latin America.