Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon officials made an unannounced visit to Puerto Rico on Monday, fueling speculation the U.S. will use the territory as a front for its fight against Latin American drug cartels.
“Honored to welcome Secretary of War Pete Hegseth [@SecWar] along with General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [@thejointstaff] to Puerto Rico,” Republican Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon wrote in a post on X. “We thank @POTUS Trump and his Administration for recognizing the strategic value Puerto Rico has to the national security of the United States and the fight against drug cartels in our hemisphere, perpetuated by [Venezuelan] narco-dictator Nicolas Maduro.
“We are proud to support America First policies that secure our borders and combat illicit activities to protect Americans and our homeland.”
The Pentagon is weighing plans to make Puerto Rico a part of its operations in the region, possibly conducting military flights out of the island territory, The Washington Post reported Monday, citing two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. The effort includes possible military flights from the island, one of the officials said, confirming a detail reported earlier by Reuters.
The U.S. military has at least eight warships in the region, the Post reported. Officials have described the effort as an “enhanced counternarcotics operation.”
The Trump administration has kept plans under tight wraps. It did not disclose in advance that Hegseth’s entourage was traveling to Puerto Rico. Typically, such information is withheld when a senior U.S. government official is going someplace dangerous, such as a war zone.
The visit follows last week’s strike against a vessel in the Caribbean that President Donald Trump said was smuggling narcotics from Venezuela and bound for the U.S. The bombing killed all 11 on board.
Senior administration officials have signaled more strikes are likely, with Vice President JD Vance writing Saturday on X that “killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”
The shift could mark the most significant U.S. military buildup on Puerto Rico since the aftermath of Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, the Post reported. About 14,000 U.S. troops were deployed in response, including more than 9,300 on the ground to help with recovery, to airlift supplies and assist with rebuilding. An additional 4,400 personnel were involved on nearby ships, including the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship.
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