The U.S. continues to fortify its military presence in the Caribbean near Venezuela as more details emerge about Nicolás Maduro's potential future. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata reports.

Caracas

The Federal Aviation Administration has restricted airspace over Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea due to increased U.S. military operations. CBS News reported from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, where MQ-9 Reaper drones, capable of surveillance and armed strikes, have been observed.

The U.S. military presence in the region has grown to over 15,000 personnel, with hundreds more troops expected to arrive. The drones provide both surveillance and strike capabilities as part of the ongoing buildup near Venezuela.

A look at the U.S. military drones positioned near Venezuela

The FAA has now restricted the airspace over Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea due to increased military operations. And this morning, officials in Colombia denied a recent report alleging Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro would soon be leaving office. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie Dagata joins us live from Puerto Rico this morning. So, Charlie, what are you hearing this morning? This is a lot of interesting news. Yeah, a lot of developments. I got to set the scene here. We're in a place called Aguadilla, which is on Puerto Rico's West Coast. And this is a rare opportunity to see those drones behind me. These are the MQ-9 Reaper drones. Now, these are the drones that are thought to be responsible for the boat strikes that we've seen. More than two dozen, more than 80 people have been killed because they're capable of launching those strikes. So, we haven't seen them take off today. There are three back there now, thought to be a little bit more than that. But yesterday, we saw one of them take off, two of them take off. One of them was actually armed with Hellfire missiles. And certainly capable of launching these drone strikes. But they also provide another asset here with this huge buildup of military firepower in this region, now 15,000 and counting. We're actually expecting to see more U.S. troops arrive over the next couple of days, hundreds of them, we've been told. But these drones can provide surveillance for those troops because they can loiter, as the U.S. military calls it, for 24 hours at a time. So they provide surveillance. They provide arms, if necessary. And they can strike. So that's what we're seeing here in Aguadilla. Again, more troops are expected. And we're having a state of this increased U.S. military buildup and presence in this region. Remarkable. Charlie, thank you, my friend. Be well.

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