REPORT: US Deploying Fighter Jets To Puerto Rico In Campaign Against Drug Cartels

The Trump administration will reportedly send 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, increasing U.S. military capabilities in the southern Caribbean as part of a campaign against drug cartels.

The deployment, expected to be in Puerto Rico by late next week, aims to target designated narco-terrorist organizations operating in the region, sources told Reuters. The F-35s, renowned for their stealth and combat proficiency, will reportedly bolster an already substantial U.S. military presence in the region in line with President Donald Trump’s commitment to combating drug trafficking into the country.

This reporting comes three days after Trump announced that the U.S. carried out a deadly strike against a cartel vessel transporting drugs in the Southern Caribbean. Colombian President Gustavo Petro claimed Wednesday that the move was akin to “murder,” according to a post translated by the Daily Caller News Foundation. (RELATED: ‘Going To Wage War’: Marco Rubio Warns Strikes On Drug Cartels Will ‘Happen Again’)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Wednesday that the Trump administration was “going to wage war” on the drug cartels, suggesting that more strikes should be expected.

Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of overseeing the Tren de Aragua gang, deemed a terrorist organization back in February, according to Reuters. The Venezuelan government has denied allegations by the Trump administration that they are involved in drug trafficking.

Following the U.S. Navy’s deployment of several warships to the eastern Caribbean in the past few weeks, Maduro claimed Monday that the U.S. is “seeking a regime change through military threat,” Newsweek reported. “In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela.”

He condemned the U.S. military presence as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.”

Up to 4,500 Marines and sailors have been deployed to Puerto Rico to participate in drills, according to Newsweek.

News of the F-35s’ imminent deployment reportedly came hours after the Pentagon claimed Venezuelan planes carried out a “provocative” flyover of an American warship, Reuters reported.