Pete Hegseth Visits Puerto Rico Amid U.S. Military Surge on Venezuelan Cartels
(MENAFN) The Pentagon’s top official, Pete Hegseth, traveled to Puerto Rico on Monday amid the United States’ ramped-up military crackdown on Venezuelan drug cartels. The island is being leveraged as a critical hub for regional anti-narcotics operations targeting the flow of illicit drugs.
Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon greeted Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, expressing gratitude to the Trump administration for highlighting the island’s strategic role.
“We thank (US President Donald) Trump and his administration for recognizing the strategic value Puerto Rico has to the national security of the United States and the fight against drug cartels in our hemisphere, perpetuated by narco-dictator Nicolas Maduro,” Gonzalez-Colon posted on the social media platform X, directly addressing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
She highlighted Puerto Rico’s crucial role in tackling drug trafficking at its origin, declaring the effort "will firmly position Puerto Rico as the United States' border in the Caribbean" by focusing on the root of the drug flow.
This visit comes in the wake of President Trump’s executive order expanding military operations against Latin American drug networks. Since August 28, a naval task force comprising seven warships and a submarine has been deployed to Caribbean waters near Venezuela. Media outlets have also reported plans for deploying advanced F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico.
Additionally, US Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit recently conducted amphibious training and flight drills in southern Puerto Rico, underscoring the island’s growing operational significance.
When asked about potential military action against Venezuela on Sunday, Trump replied cryptically: “You're gonna find out.”
Puerto Rico’s unique status as a US unincorporated territory complicates its political ties to Washington, even as it remains a vital strategic outpost for American military initiatives across the region.
In a related move last Friday, Trump signed an executive order rebranding the Department of Defense as the "Department of War," assigning the defense agency and its secretary, Hegseth, secondary titles to reflect the shift.
The US government has long accused Venezuelan President Maduro of orchestrating the Cartel de los Soles, a notorious drug trafficking network. On July 25, the Treasury Department formally designated the cartel as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” group.
On August 8, the US doubled its bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction, raising it from $25 million to $50 million.
Maduro responded defiantly on August 18, asserting: “We defend our seas, our skies and our land. No empire can touch Venezuela’s sacred territory or South America’s sacred lands.”
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