U.S. Warplanes And Cruise‑Missile Ship Deployed To Puerto Rico Hub

PUERTO RICO – The U.S. military is stepping up its presence in the Caribbean, with a cruise-missile destroyer and F-35b fighter jets now operating out of Puerto Rico.

The USS Gravely docked in ponce on Thursday, while Reuters cameras captured an F-35b taking off from the former Roosevelt Roads base on the island’s Eastern side.

Washington has been ramping up its posture near Venezuela as tensions with President Nicolás Maduro’s government continue to grow.

On Thursday night, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will “very soon” take action against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, though no formal operations have been publicly confirmed.