SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥 U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday for an unexpected visit as the U.S. steps up its military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean.
Their arrival in the U.S. territory comes more than a week after ships carrying hundreds of U.S. Marines deployed to Puerto Rico for what officials said was a training exercise, a move that some on the island have criticized.
But on Monday night, Hegseth said in a video posted on X that the deployed Marines were 鈥渙n the front lines of defending the American homeland.鈥
鈥淢ake no mistake about it, what you鈥檙e doing right now is not training. This is the real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interest of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people,鈥 he said while aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
Earlier in the day, said Hegseth and Caine visited on behalf of President Donald Trump’s administration to support those participating in the training.
鈥淲e thank President Trump and his administration for recognizing the strategic importance of Puerto Rico to U.S. national security and for their fight against drug cartels and the narco-dictator Nicol谩s Maduro,鈥 Gonz谩lez said.
Hegseth and Caine met with officials at the 156th Wing Mu帽iz Air National Guard Base in Carolina, a city just east of the capital of San Juan.
Gonz谩lez said Hegseth spoke to nearly 300 soldiers at the base and thanked those he described as 鈥淎merican warriors鈥 for their work. He later departed for the USS Iwo Jima.
鈥淭he American people are counting on you to ensure the American homeland is kept safe,鈥 Hegseth told the Marines aboard the USS Iwo Jima. 鈥淣arco terrorists and drug traffickers are on notice.鈥
The visit comes as the U.S. prepares to deploy 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico for operations targeting drug cartels, a person familiar with the planning said Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because information about the deployments has not been made public.
Tensions escalating
On Sept. 2, Trump announced that the U.S. against a vessel that had left Venezuela and was suspected of carrying drugs. Eleven people were killed in the rare U.S. military operation in the Caribbean, with the president saying the vessel was operated by the Venezuelan gang .
While the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago and said the U.S. should kill all drug traffickers 鈥渧iolently,鈥 reaction from other Caribbean leaders has been more subdued.
Barbadian Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds that members of Caricom, a regional trade bloc, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking for an open line of communication on developments. He said they want to avoid being surprised by any U.S. moves against Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Venezuela鈥檚 government on Monday insisted that the U.S. is falsely accusing it of playing a crucial role in the global drug trade. Vice President Delcy Rodr铆guez told reporters the U.S. government should redirect its recently deployed maritime force to the Pacific, where fast boats and container ships have long carried Colombian cocaine.
鈥淭hose ships that are trying to intimidate Venezuela today should be there in the Pacific if they truly wanted to fight and prevent cocaine from reaching the United States of America,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey have a GPS location problem. They鈥檙e where they shouldn鈥檛 be. They need to calibrate their GPS.鈥
Rodr铆guez, citing reports from the United Nations and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, added that Venezuela 鈥渉as absolutely nothing to do with the deaths of (U.S.) citizens from drug overdoses鈥 as the country 鈥渋s not relevant鈥 in global drug production.
She suggested the U.S. should focus on fighting consumption within its borders.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of hypocrisy, a lot of double standards, a lot of political manipulation of this issue to attack, to intervene, to aim for regime change in countries that aren鈥檛 sympathetic,鈥 she said, referring to drug trafficking.
鈥楴o to War鈥
The ongoing training of the Marines in Puerto Rico and the upcoming deployment of fighter jets have rankled some in the U.S. territory, where the memories of the U.S. Navy using nearby islands as training ranges for decades remains fresh, .
The April 1999 death of civilian security guard David Sanes Rodr铆guez sparked large protests at the time, eventually leading to the U.S. military leaving the island. Rodr铆guez was killed after two 500-pound (226-kilogram) bombs were dropped near him as part of a training mission in Vieques.
On Sunday, dozens of people gathered at the National Guard base in Carolina to decry the heightened U.S. military presence on the island.
They held signs that said, 鈥淣o to War鈥 and 鈥淣o to military bases in P.R.鈥
Organizers also warned against the use of Puerto Rico as a staging ground for potential U.S. military actions in the region.
鈥淲e denounce the existence of military bases in Puerto Rico,鈥 said Sonia Santiago Hern谩ndez, founder of Mothers Against War.
Gonz谩lez has dismissed those concerns, saying that Puerto Rico is playing an important role in Trump’s ongoing fight against drug trafficking since it represents a U.S. border in the Caribbean.
She also has noted that the ongoing training of Marines involves logistics exercises and no ammunition.
Marines in Puerto Rico
Siul L贸pez, a spokesman for Puerto Rico鈥檚 National Guard, told the AP that the Marines were practicing amphibious maneuvers with a variety of vehicles, adding that he did not know how many were on the island.
Meanwhile, Gonz谩lez said last week that she estimates more than 1,000 Marines were in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Marine Corps issued a statement on Aug. 31 noting that marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit would be conducting amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
鈥淭he challenging terrain and tropical climate of Puerto Rico provides an ideal environment for the 22nd MEU to conduct realistic amphibious training and hone specialized skills such as patrolling, reconnaissance and survival techniques, ensuring a high level of readiness while forward deployed,鈥 the Marine Corps said in a statement.
It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear how long Hegseth and Caine planned to stay in Puerto Rico, or if they visited other sites while on the island.
L贸pez, the National Guard鈥檚 spokesman, declined to comment on specifics of the visit.
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Associated Press reporter Will Weissert in Washington D.C., Regina Garc铆a Cano in Caracas and AP videographer Alejandro Granadillo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed.
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