Pete Hegseth visits Puerto Rico to boost Caribbean drug cartel fight

The U.S. ramped up its fight against Caribbean drug cartels Monday as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine touched down in Puerto Rico to bolster military operations.

Puerto Rican Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón and First Gentleman Dr. José Yovín Vargas welcomed the pair, framing the visit as the Trump administration’s show of support for troops training on the island.

“We thank President Trump and his administration for recognizing Puerto Rico’s strategic importance to our national security, and for their commitment to combat drug cartels and the narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro,” the governor said. “We fully support America First policies that protect our borders and fight illicit activities in defense of the American people.”

The meeting took place at Muñiz Air Base in Carolina, outside San Juan, and drew top brass including Puerto Rico National Guard Adjutant General Carlos José Rivera-Román, Public Safety Secretary Brig. Gen. Arthur Garffer, and other senior military leaders.

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Hegseth spoke to nearly 300 soldiers at the base, thanking and describing them as “American warriors.” The secretary of war also provided affirmation that those serving in the Armed Forces will be the best equipped and prepared in the world.

The visit comes as the U.S. military expands its naval footprint near Venezuela, part of President Donald Trump’s push to choke off drug flows from Latin America.

Naval and air assets have been dispatched to confront traffickers and secure key maritime routes, with some already used this week against alleged narco-terrorists.

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Last Tuesday, Marines hit a vessel in the southern Caribbean Sea that was allegedly ferrying members of the Tren de Aragua gang smuggling narcotics to the U.S.

While the U.S. military has long worked to counter cartel and international gang organizations beginning in the late 1980s, the strike killed 11 alleged members of Tren de Aragua – which the Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization in February – marked a definite shift from previous seize and apprehend operations.

President Donald Trump has made it clear since his first administration that he strongly opposes Maduro’s regime and even announced a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

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Hegseth has also sent major firepower to the region—including the USS Iwo Jima, USS Lake Erie, USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely, and USS Sampson—to hunt criminal networks and narco-terrorists.

Trump’s decision to deploy U.S. troops off of the South American nation prompted Maduro, last Monday, to decry the move as an attempt to seek regime change and said, “Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”

Against that backdrop, González-Colón cast Puerto Rico as America’s frontline in the regional crackdown.

“President Trump’s leadership in the fight against narcotrafficking places Puerto Rico—our nation’s Caribbean border—at the forefront of our security and interests,” González-Colón added. “For the first time, I believe we are confronting the problem at its root, striking directly at the source of the drug flow.”