Name: U.S. continues to beef up military presence in Caribbean
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T01:57:28.092Z
Duration: 2 min 2 s
Description: As the U.S. military strengthens its position off the coast of Venezuela, a new CBS News poll finds more than two-thirds of Americans say they are opposed to U.S. military action there.

As the U.S. military strengthens its position off the coast of Venezuela, a new CBS News poll finds more than two-thirds of Americans say they are opposed to U.S. military action there.

San Juan

The United States has intensified its military presence in the Caribbean, focusing on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Cartel de los Soles, which has been officially labeled a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. Air Force has released images of B-52 bombers conducting attack demonstrations near Venezuela, while the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and F-18 fighter jets are running exercises in the area.

Additional military assets, such as MQ-9 Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles, have been deployed to target suspected drug smuggling operations. Local officials in Puerto Rico have expressed support for further U.S. action, while President Maduro has called for peace. Reports indicate that a significant portion of the U.S. Navy is now stationed in the region, and covert operations are being considered.

U.S. continues to beef up military presence in Caribbean

The U.S. military pressure bearing down on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is about to enter a dramatic new phase, as the drug cartel he's accused of being linked to is officially designated as a foreign terrorist organization. In its latest show of force in this region, the U.S. Air Force shared new images of B-52 bombers conducting a nighttime attack demo along the coast of Venezuela, designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization raises the stakes for Maduro, says Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. We want to make sure the president has options to include doing a whole lot, to include doing the cartel mission that we're doing there as well. So nothing is off the table, but nothing is automatically on the table. Among those options, the USS Gerald, our Ford aircraft carrier, with its squadrons of F-18 fighter jets already running exercises. In the city of Aguadilla, we found other weapons in the growing arsenal. And those are the MQ-9 Reaper drones. One of them is armed with Hellfire missiles. And these are exactly the kind of drones that are capable of knocking out those suspected drug smuggling boats. And the mayor of Aguadilla fully supports even further U.S. military action. Whatever happened here, it's a war. It's a war. It's a war. This is not a game, you know? It's really just a war. Maduro has repeatedly appealed for peace, most recently addressing students at a rally. War, no! War, no! Not another war! Not another war! Roughly a quarter of the U.S. Navy's deployed warships are currently in this region, Jerica. President Trump has already confirmed the CIA is operating inside Venezuela. And there are reports he may be weighing up an idea of a covert operation to remove the Venezuelan president.

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