Name: U.S. building up military forces near Venezuela
Uploaded: 2025-11-18T14:51:23.171Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: The United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, a Reuters visual investigation has found, suggesting preparations for sustained operations that could help support possible actions inside Venezuela.

The United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, a Reuters visual investigation has found, suggesting preparations for sustained operations that could help support possible actions inside Venezuela.

A Reuters visual investigation has found that the United States is upgrading the long-abandoned Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico, with additional construction at civilian airports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Officials and experts suggest these activities could enable potential U.S. military operations inside Venezuela, as part of a broader shift in U.S. counter-narcotics strategy under the Trump administration.

Since August, the U.S. has deployed warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, fighter jets, and spy planes to the Caribbean, with the Ford Aircraft Carrier Strike Group en route from the Adriatic Sea. The upgrades and deployments come amid increased strikes against alleged drug vessels in the region and reflect a move to involve the Navy and Air Force more directly in counter-narcotics missions.

U.S. building up military forces near Venezuela

A Reuters visual investigation has found that the United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean. Officials and experts say it could mean the U.S. is preparing for possible action inside Venezuela. So why is the U.S. restoring the base now? This is not something that the region is accustomed to seeing. Ryan Berg is director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. I think this is happening now for a number of reasons. First, the Trump administration is very keen to demonstrate that they are implementing a new paradigm when it comes to dealing with counter-narcotics. No longer is the U.S. Coast Guard the lead operator in these missions, but the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force have been brought in to support and in many ways take over these missions. And I think that that new paradigm is there because the administration is keen to show that foreign terrorist organization designations for cartels in Latin America have consequences, in this case, lethal consequences. Since early September, the U.S. has carried out at least 14 strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 60 people. The upgrades in the Caribbean are taking place at Puerto Rico's Roosevelt Roads Naval Base. The Navy withdrew from the facility more than 20 years ago in 2004. Before that, it was one of the biggest U.S. naval stations in the world. One U.S. official told Reuters the base occupies a strategic location and offers a large amount of space for gathering equipment. Construction activity was underway on September 17th. According to photos taken by Reuters, crews began clearing and repaving taxiways leading to the runway. In addition to the upgrades of landing and takeoff capabilities, the U.S. is building out facilities at civilian airports in Puerto Rico and San Juan in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those two U.S. territories sit roughly 500 miles from Venezuela. Reuters spoke to three U.S. military officials and three maritime experts, who said the new construction in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands pointed to preparations that could enable the U.S. military to carry out operations inside Venezuela. President Donald Trump has also suggested it. And a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so you get to see that. But we're going to stop them by land also. The U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean began in August with the arrival of warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, fighter jets and spy planes. The Ford Aircraft Carrier Strike Group, with roughly 10,000 troops and dozens of aircraft and weapons systems, is on its way from the Adriatic Sea. According to Reuters reporting in U.S. officials, the Trump administration since August has deployed at least 13 warships, five support vessels and a nuclear submarine. Eight warships remain in the region, along with supporting vessels.

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