U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. Dan Caine made an unannounced visit to Puerto Rico on Monday as the United States increases military operations in the Caribbean aimed at disrupting drug cartels.
The visit came more than a week after U.S. ships carrying hundreds of Marines arrived on the island for what officials described as a training exercise. Hegseth told service members in a video posted on X that the Marines were “on the front lines of defending the American homeland” and called their work a “real-world exercise” to halt what he called “the poisoning of the American people.”
Hegseth and Caine visited the 156th Wing Muñiz Air National Guard Base in Carolina, just east of San Juan, where Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González said Hegseth addressed nearly 300 soldiers and thanked them as “American warriors.” Hegseth later departed for the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, where he told Marines aboard that “narco terrorists and drug traffickers are on notice.”
Officials said the Bermuda-area and Caribbean operations include amphibious training and flight operations by elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. A person familiar with planning told media on condition of anonymity that the Pentagon is preparing to deploy 10 F‑35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to support operations targeting drug cartels, but the timing and duration of such deployments have not been publicly confirmed.
González and U.S. military officials described the activity as logistics and readiness training rather than offensive action, and the governor framed Puerto Rico as a strategic U.S. border in the Caribbean. She estimated more than 1,000 Marines were on the island, while a National Guard spokesman said Marines were practicing amphibious maneuvers with a variety of vehicles and declined to specify numbers.
Not all residents welcomed the heightened military presence. Dozens of protesters gathered at the Carolina base Sunday, holding signs that read “No to War” and “No to military bases in P.R.” Organizers warned against using Puerto Rico as a staging ground for potential U.S. military actions in the region, citing historical scars from previous U.S. training, including the deadly 1999 bombing exercise in Vieques that led to large protests and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. Navy training from that island.
Some island residents and activists reiterated those grievances. Sonia Santiago Hernández, founder of Mothers Against War, said demonstrators denounced the existence of military bases in Puerto Rico and opposed the expanded presence. González dismissed such concerns, saying the training involves no ammunition and is focused on countering narcotics trafficking.
The U.S. push in the Caribbean follows a September 2 strike in the southern Caribbean that U.S. officials said targeted a vessel suspected of carrying drugs and linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The strike killed 11 people, a rare use of U.S. military force in the region. Reactions among Caribbean leaders have varied: the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago praised the strike, while members of the Caribbean Community sought clearer communications from Washington to avoid being surprised by U.S. actions against Venezuela.
Venezuela’s government has denied responsibility for global drug flows and criticized the U.S. maritime deployments. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said Monday that the U.S. should focus operations in the Pacific, where she said fast boats and container ships have long transported Colombian cocaine, and accused the U.S. of politicizing drug trafficking to justify intervention. Rodríguez cited U.N. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports in arguing that Venezuela is not central to global drug production.
The U.S. Marine Corps said on Aug. 31 that marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit were conducting amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico to hone specialized skills and maintain readiness while forward deployed. The statement described the island’s challenging terrain and tropical climate as providing an ideal environment for realistic amphibious training.
It was not immediately clear how long Hegseth and Caine planned to remain in Puerto Rico or whether their itinerary included other locations on the island. National Guard officials declined to comment on specifics of the visit.
The visit underscores an expansion of U.S. military activity in the Caribbean amid Washington’s stated effort to disrupt drug-trafficking networks and their maritime routes. U.S. officials have linked recent operations to the broader national-security objective of stemming illegal drugs reaching the United States, while regional governments and local advocates continue to press for clearer communication about the scope and intent of U.S. actions.