In a dramatic escalation of US involvement in Latin America’s ongoing battle against organized crime, President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of ten F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico, targeting drug cartels operating inside Venezuela. The move, reported by multiple US news agencies on September 5, 2025, is part of a broader campaign that has seen American military might repositioned throughout the Caribbean, and an increasingly tough stance taken against what Washington now labels “narco-terrorist” organizations.
The deployment comes amid swirling reports that the Trump administration is actively considering direct strikes on drug trafficking groups within Venezuela—a step that would mark a new phase in already tense US-Venezuela relations. According to CNN and other outlets, these options are on the table as the White House repurposes the language and tactics of the “war on terror” for Latin American crime networks.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, facing mounting US threats, has responded by mobilizing the country’s military—some 340,000 active personnel, according to official numbers—and calling up more than eight million reservists and militia members. “If Venezuela were attacked, it would immediately enter a period of armed struggle,” Maduro warned reporters earlier this week, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
Despite the saber-rattling, President Trump insisted on September 5 that regime change in Venezuela is not the administration’s objective. “But we are talking about the fact that you had an election which was a very strange election, to put it mildly,” Trump said, referencing Maduro’s controversial return to office in January 2025 and allegations of vote irregularities.
US military activity in the region has not gone unnoticed. The Department of Defense accused Venezuela on September 4 of a “highly provocative” act after two F-16 fighter planes reportedly flew near the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham—one of at least seven US warships currently stationed in the southern Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines. The Pentagon has also deployed a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine just outside Venezuelan territorial waters, further heightening tensions.
President Trump has issued a stark warning to Venezuela, stating that US military commanders have authorization to shoot down any Venezuelan jets that threaten American vessels. “If they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shot down,” Trump declared, according to Reuters.
The US campaign against organized crime in the region is not limited to Venezuela. In a high-profile incident on September 2, US forces destroyed a speedboat in the Caribbean, which Trump said belonged to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization linked to Maduro. The attack, which reportedly killed 11 people, drew condemnation from Caracas as an “extrajudicial killing” and prompted legal experts to question its legitimacy under international law.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a key figure in the administration’s Latin America policy, has vigorously defended the military approach. “What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them,” Rubio said during a visit to Mexico on September 3, as reported by Latin Times. “If you’re on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl headed to the United States, you’re an immediate threat to the United States.”
Rubio’s influence extends beyond Venezuela. On September 4, during a visit to Quito, Ecuador, he announced nearly $20 million in US security aid for Ecuador, including $6 million earmarked for drones. The funding is intended to help Ecuador combat a surge in violence attributed to powerful drug gangs—an issue that has transformed the country from one of Latin America’s safest to one of its most dangerous in recent years. Rubio also designated two of Ecuador’s most notorious gangs, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organizations, bringing them directly into US crosshairs.
“This administration is confronting it like it’s never been confronted before,” Rubio told reporters, underscoring the Trump administration’s aggressive new posture. Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, who has deployed troops to battle gang violence, has welcomed US support. At a joint press conference, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld stated, “Ecuador wants to see the Americas region free of threats from transnational organized crime groups and terrorist groups that want to subjugate our citizens.”
The US and Ecuador are also moving forward on a “safe third country” asylum agreement, under which Ecuador will accept about 300 migrants annually who are deported from the US but originally hail from third countries. This limited program, according to Sommerfeld, applies only to refugees with no criminal background and who are in good health. The agreement is part of a broader Trump administration push to expedite the removal of deportees and curb migration flows across the hemisphere.
In an intriguing twist, Secretary Rubio revealed that the US would consider reestablishing a military base in Ecuador if invited by the country’s government—a prospect that President Noboa supports, pending approval via a national referendum. Ecuador previously hosted a US base in the coastal city of Manta until 2009, when then-president Rafael Correa ordered its closure. “If they invite us to return, we will consider it very seriously,” Rubio said, as reported by AFP.
The convergence of US and Ecuadorian interests is also evident in Noboa’s rhetoric. On September 5, Noboa publicly branded Venezuela’s Maduro as a “cartel leader” and pledged to do “everything to end narco terrorism.” Intelligence reports, Noboa said, concluded that Maduro is the head of the Cartel de los Soles, a group Washington has also labeled a terrorist organization.
The US is hoping to seal an economic agreement with Ecuador within weeks, further cementing the partnership. However, Ecuador must balance its warming ties with Washington against its substantial debts to China, accrued through infrastructure deals in previous years.
For now, the Trump administration’s strategy appears to hinge on a combination of military muscle, economic incentives, and diplomatic pressure—aimed not only at disrupting drug trafficking networks but also at reshaping the political landscape of Latin America. Whether these efforts will yield lasting results or further inflame regional tensions remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the battle lines, both literal and figurative, have been sharply drawn.
As the US flexes its military and diplomatic power in the region, the coming weeks could prove pivotal for the future of US-Latin American relations—and for the millions caught in the crossfire of the war on drugs and crime.