The firepower is overwhelming – but for what?
The present US military presence in the Caribbean Sea under U.S. Southern Command is the largest deployment in the region since the 1989 Panama invasion, with approximately 15,000 total personnel.
Operations are centered in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and international waters near Venezuela.
I assembled a tentative list of complete military and intelligence assets in the region. (Brace yourselves, the list is quite long.)
Naval assets:
The USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the world’s largest, and his strike group; The USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Group; Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Jason Dunham and USS Gravely; USS Stockdale; cruisers USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and USS Gettysburg; USS Newport News nuclear-capable submarine; USNS Waters (T-AGS-45), a submarine survey ship; MV Ocean Trader, support ship hosting special operations forces; “The Ghost” ocean surveillance spy ship.
Air Assets:
On the USS Gerald R. Ford, approximately 90 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornets and E-2D Hawkeyes; Heavy bombers like multiple B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancers; Maritime patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidons, and at least one AC-130J Ghostrider gunship; Helicopters like MH-60 Seahawk and Black Hawk; “Little Bird” light attack and insertion helicopters; V-22 Ospreys for rapid troop insertion; CH-53 Super Stallions; E-6 Mercury airborne command post; Dornier C-146A Wolfhound for special operations transport and covert insertions; AV-8B Harrier or F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) fighters.
Ground and Special Operations Assets:
Marine and Army troops number about 5,000 in Puerto Rico alone, including the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU); The 82nd Airborne Division; Army Rangers and Special Operations Forces.
Intelligence Assets:
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) leading covert operations, now authorized for lethal actions in Venezuela; the National Security Agency (NSA) handling signals intelligence integrated with P-8 and E-6 platforms; the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) supplying overhead imagery and human intelligence.
If you survived this exhausting list, you mut be asking yourself: all this for what?
NEW: The Department of War conducted another strike on a drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, killing all narco-terrorists on board, Secretary of War Hegseth says.
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland — if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs.” pic.twitter.com/Di7zzwWupI
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 7, 2025
CBS News reported:
“Senior military officials on Wednesday presented President Trump with updated options for potential operations in Venezuela, including strikes on land, according to multiple sources familiar with the meetings at the White House.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and other senior officials briefed the president on military options for the coming days, the sources said.”
Ready for rapid response: U.S. Marines with the @22nd_MEU conduct training operations in Puerto Rico. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the #SOUTHCOM mission, @DeptofWar-directed operations, and @POTUS‘ priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking… pic.twitter.com/cxClR61U3X
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) November 1, 2025
No final decision has reportedly been made on what course of action to take.
“The U.S. intelligence community assisted in providing information for potential operations, the sources said. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard did not attend White House discussions because she was returning from an overseas trip. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Canada at a G7 summit of foreign ministers.”
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