U.S. Military displays Advanced Aircraft in Puerto Rico Amid Rising Venezuela โขTensions
SAN JUAN, PUERTO โRICO – The United States has signaled a heightened posture toward Venezuela with a display of five F-35 โขfighter aircraft in puerto Rico, escalating tensions between the two nations. The โคmove comes as the Trump governance increasingly frames Venezuelan President Nicolรกs Maduro’s government as a criminal enterprise andโ vows โtoo dismantle illicit โขgroups operating within the country.
The deployment, coupled with recent statementsโ from key โฃU.S. officials, suggests a potential shift toward more assertive โaction against drug trafficking and what Washington designates as “narco-terrorist organizations” linked to โขthe Maduro regime. A report from The New York Times indicated that Senator Marco Rubio may be “preparing what coudl be the most โคvital military actions of Presidentโ Trump’s second mandate.” Rubio has previously asserted the U.S.will take “the necessary measures to end drug trafficking and stop Nicolรกs Maduro.”
President Trump has designated criminal groups like the Aragua Train as โคterrorist bands, pledging to dismantle โขthem. A senior U.S. official stated following a recent operation that “the interception no longer works” and that “What will stop โthem is to fly through the air. Theโค president of the Unitedโ Statesโข will fight a war against narco-terroristโข organizations.”
Theโ administration has repeatedly characterized Maduro not as aโ legitimate government, but โฃas โฃthe head of a “criminal associationโข that has โฃtaken over a national territory to enrich himself.” Maduro, in response to the โขescalating โtensions, warned Donald trump, stating, “donald Trump, take care of yourself, because Marco Rubio wants to stain his blood hands,” and reiterated that no foreign forces would be โขpermitted to enter Venezuelan territory.