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By Ryan Chan
China News Reporter
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The United States continues to maintain a strong military presence in the Caribbean amid tensions with Venezuela, with American fighter jets conducting shows of force.
The Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Why It Matters
The Pentagon has deployed a number of air and naval assets—including destroyers, amphibious warships and stealth fighter aircraft—across the Caribbean as part of its counter-narcotics operations targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's regime.
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As of Friday, U.S. forces have conducted strikes on four narcotics-trafficking boats off Venezuela, as President Donald Trump has reportedly declared that his country is in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels, which the U.S. designates as "unlawful combatants."
What To Know
The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, released undated footage on Sunday showing Marine Corps AV-8B fighter jets conducting live-fire training and flight operations in the Caribbean Sea.
AV-8B fighter jets—designed for attack missions—were seen loaded with bombs aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, after which they launched and dropped munitions at sea, demonstrating their ability to destroy surface targets.
The amphibious warship, which resembles a small aircraft carrier and is tasked with moving forces from sea to shore, was seen visiting St. Thomas, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, on Saturday, according to ship-spotting photos.
The Iwo Jima formed a naval task group with the amphibious transport dock ships USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale, deploying with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, a sea-based air-ground task force capable of conducting amphibious operations.
Earlier, the U.S. Southern Command released another video showing Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets—capable of evading radar detection—armed with missiles and bombs at an undisclosed location in the Caribbean during a training exercise.
According to photos released by the U.S. Air Force on Thursday, a number of F-35B jets landed at an airfield in Puerto Rico as early as September 13 to support the Southern Command mission, the Pentagon-directed operations and the president's priorities.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Southern Command wrote in a post on the social media platform X on Sunday: "U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the [Southern Command] mission, [Department of Defense]-directed operations, and [President Donald Trump] priorities."
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday: "We have every authorization needed [for narco-terrorist strikes]. These are designated as foreign terrorist organizations. They're a threat to the homeland—they're a threat to the American people. They've been poisoning our people for far too long, and President Trump said no more."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Pentagon will deploy additional ships and aircraft across the Caribbean to increase military pressure on Venezuela.
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