US F-35 Fighter Jets Land in the Caribbean

Five US F-35 fighter jets have landed in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico amid tensions with Venezuela.

News ID: 86658

Date: 14 September 2025 - 08:36

TEHRAN (Defapress) - According to Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump last week ordered the deployment of 10 stealth F-35 fighter jets to the Caribbean Sea for what he described as combating drug cartels.

Reuters reported that following this order, its correspondent witnessed the landing of 5 of these fighter jets on Sunday at the "Roosevelt Roads" military base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.

In recent days, the presence of Osprey aircraft, helicopters, and other U.S. military equipment and personnel has been observed at this base.

This comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with other U.S. military officials, traveled to Puerto Rico last week.

A press official from the U.S. Department of Defense stated regarding the landing of U.S. F-35 fighter jets in Puerto Rico: "We currently have no changes in force posture."

Last week, regarding the deployment of these fighter jets to the Caribbean Sea, Trump claimed that he is not seeking regime change in Venezuela.

The U.S. military announced last week that it had killed 11 individuals who were traveling on a boat from Venezuela and carrying drugs.

Venezuela stated that none of these 11 individuals were drug traffickers. Caracas also said on Saturday night that a U.S. warship had detained several of its fishermen for 8 hours on Friday.

Under the pretext of the "war on drugs," the U.S. has deployed eight warships, 1,200 missiles, a nuclear submarine, three destroyers with approximately 4,500 soldiers, including 2,200 Marines, to the southern Caribbean.

The U.S. has also linked the "Cartel of the Suns" drug cartel to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and increased the reward for information leading to his capture from $25 million to $50 million.

In response to U.S. "imperialism," Maduro has mobilized nearly 4.5 million militia members to defend the country.