Satellite imagery showed a surge of U.S. air power at the former Naval Air Station Roosevelt Roads, near Ceiba, Puerto Rico.

Eight F-35 fighters, two C-17 transports, and a KC-130 tanker are deployed as the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group transit toward the region, signaling preparations for a potential major operation in the Southern Caribbean.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) for comment.

Why It Matters

Puerto Rico is emerging as a central staging as the United States is redirecting its military attention toward Latin America and the Caribbean amid President Donald Trump ’s expanding campaign against Venezuelan-linked drug cartels. The military launched strikes last month on boats in the Caribbean Sea, which U.S. officials sa

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