Name: New details on U.S. military ramp-up near Venezuela
Uploaded: 2025-11-20T00:24:11.328Z
Duration: 4 min 12 s
Description: President Trump has authorized additional measures to prepare for covert operations inside Venezuela, according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, people in Puerto Rico are seeing some of the U.S. military buildup.

President Trump has authorized additional measures to prepare for covert operations inside Venezuela, according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, people in Puerto Rico are seeing some of the U.S. military buildup.

Caracas

The United States has significantly increased its military presence in Puerto Rico and the surrounding Caribbean region, with approximately 15,000 troops deployed on the island and at sea. This buildup includes the arrival of a U.S. Navy supply ship, frequent takeoffs of MQ-9 Reaper drones—some armed with Hellfire missiles—and the establishment of a new airfield hosting helicopters and cargo planes.

Reports indicate that President Trump authorized the CIA to prepare covert operations inside Venezuela, even as diplomatic channels with President Nicolas Maduro remain open. The Pentagon has not officially confirmed the drone operations, but local officials and residents have observed heightened military activity, and a notice to airmen has been issued due to the increased presence of U.S. and allied aircraft in the region.

New details on U.S. military ramp-up near Venezuela

And some developing news related to President Trump's vision for military action inside Venezuela. The New York Times reporting President Trump authorized plans for the CIA to prepare covert operations inside Venezuela. This despite signaling the president is open to talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Meanwhile, people in Puerto Rico seeing some of the buildup of hundreds of troops training there. We're joined by CBS News Senior National Security Correspondent Charlie Daggett, who's there. Charlie, thank you for being with us. What can you tell us about the military operations there, including this newly docked supply ship? Yeah, so we went out to the south of the island last night, Liz, and there we saw a U.S. Navy supply ship that was essentially filling up with fuel and supplies. The Port Authority said that it arrived yesterday morning. It's going to be there for a couple of days. And essentially what that becomes is a floating gas station for the warships that are now in the Caribbean. So it comes to this area in the south of the island and it fills up and then will then resupply. It's called a resupply ship, a U.S. Navy supply ship, and you're seeing a lot of these. It's just part of the indication of the military buildup across the island, including where we now have come to the West Coast. And Charlie, you also got a good look at those drones conducting military exercises on the island. What can you tell us about that? Well, Liz, we came here because we spoke to the mayor of Aguadilla, it's called, and he said these drones are taking off all the time. These are the MQ-9 Reaper drones. These are the drones that are capable and possibly responsible for taking out these suspected drug boats, more than two dozen in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. And when we arrived here today, we just missed it. We had three of those Reaper drones that were here. Two of them just took off and one of them was armed with Hellfire missiles. Now again, these are the types of missiles that would be used in these drone strikes. We haven't got official confirmation. The U.S. military and the Pentagon has been deeply secretive about these operations, but we've seen it for our own eyes. In fact, people have gathered here this afternoon and this evening to watch these drones take off. So it was a surprise to see them sort of in plain view, but we knew they were taking off from here and we know this is part of the military buildup. Now what that drone capability does, the first one that we saw take off, it wasn't unarmed, it had own self-defense on there, but these are surveillance drones as well because they are able to loiter, as the U.S. military calls it. They're able to remain in the sky for as much as 24 hours. And that's critical. It's important because the amount of U.S. military hardware and presence in this region, you want to have surveillance to see where there might be a threat. So those drones are critical. But when they're armed with the Hellfire missiles, if they can see, identify a threat, even at 50,000 feet, they can pinprick onto that target, which is why we believe that those drones are the ones that are certainly capable, if not responsible for these boat strikes. And the mayor who told us come out and see these, they're happening all the time, day and night. The locals that we spoke to said this is what's happening. We've also seen a buildup of this area that had been shut down for a while, but this is now a U.S. airfield. We've seen Black Hawk helicopters, cargo planes, off in the distance, they're developing part of that area. Somebody I spoke to said there's been so much activity with cargo jets. So it's just an indication of now 15,000 U.S. troops, both here in Puerto Rico and in the sea, on destroyers and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, fleets of F-18 fighter jets. There's been a NOTAM that was issued here, which is a notice to airmen saying there's a lot of activity in this region, and just to be on their guard and to be extra careful because there's so much activity, U.S. aircraft and other aircraft, in this massive military buildup here. Charlie Daggett, live for us in Puerto Rico. Thanks so much, Charlie. Great to be with you. Thank you.

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