US reportedly to deploy 10 F-35s to Puerto Rico for anti-drug operations

The United States is deploying 10 F-35 fighter jets to an unspecified airport in Puerto Rico as part of expanded operations against drug cartels in the southern Caribbean, according to two sources cited by Reuters on September 5, 2025. 

Supposedly, the deployment is intended to reinforce an already significant US military presence in the region as President Donald Trump campaigns on a pledge to crack down on organizations accused of smuggling narcotics into the United States. 

The sources, who spoke on condition of full anonymity, said that the 10 fighters will be tasked with operations against “designated narco-terrorist organizations” in the southern Caribbean and are expected to arrive by the middle of September 2025. 

Escalating tensions in the Caribbean

The order comes just three days after US forces struck a vessel that Trump claimed was carrying a large shipment of drugs from Venezuela, an attack that killed 11 people. The US president described those killed as members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua cartel, which he has labeled a terrorist organization. 

In recent weeks, Washington has already dispatched a flotilla of warships to the Caribbean, including the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham, which was buzzed by Venezuelan F-16 jets on September 4, 2025. 

The Pentagon has not officially confirmed the deployment of the F-35s. The post US reportedly to deploy 10 F-35s to Puerto Rico for anti-drug operations appeared first on AeroTime.

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