US deploying 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico for drug cartel fight, sources say
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The 10 fighter jets are reportedly being sent to conduct operations against designated narco-terrorist organisations operating in the southern Caribbean.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – The US has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to conduct operations against drug cartels, two sources briefed on the matter said, in a move likely to further inflame tensions in the region.
The advanced fighter jets will be added to an already bristling US military presence in the southern Caribbean as President Donald Trump carries out a campaign pledge to crack down on groups he blames for funnelling drugs into the United States.
The development on Sept 5 comes three days after US forces attacked a boat that Mr Trump said was carrying “massive amounts of drugs” from Venezuela, killing 11 people.
The strike appeared to set the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 10 fighter jets are being sent to conduct operations against designated narco-terrorist organisations operating in the southern Caribbean.
The planes should arrive in the area by late next week, they said.
The US has deployed warships in the southern Caribbean in recent weeks, with the aim of carrying out Mr Trump’s crackdown.
Seven US warships and one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine are either in the region or expected to be there soon, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and marines.
US Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have been carrying out amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
The build-up has put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has called “effectively a kingpin of a drug narco state”.
Mr Maduro, at a rare news conference in Caracas on Sept 1, in turn said the US is “seeking a regime change through military threat”.
US officials have not said what legal justification was used for the air strike on the boat on Sept 2 or what drugs were on board.
Mr Trump said on Sept 2, without providing evidence, that the US military had identified the crew of the vessel as members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Washington designated a terrorist group in February. REUTERS
