The United States has ordered the deployment of air and naval forces in the southern Caribbean to confront threats from drug trafficking cartels, designated as global terrorist organizations, CNN reported citing Pentagon sources, and confirmed by Reuters this Thursday, August 14, 2025.
The deployment includes a nuclear submarine, P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, naval destroyers and a missile-equipped warship.
One officer described this action not only as a deterrent, but as a way to provide the military command with multiple options to use force if necessary.
U.S. war with Latin cartels
Traditionally, the fight against drug cartels has fallen to the DEA, not the military. However, under the Trump administration, this dynamic changed. Last February, the US designated major cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Aragua Train as terrorist organizations. It subsequently doubled the bounty on Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of leading the Cartel of the Suns.
At the same time, the Colombian-born US Senator Bernie Moreno, Republican for Ohio and a figure close to Trump, is in Cartagena, Colombia. There, he warned that Maduro will not remain in the Presidency of Venezuela beyond the end of the year and emphasized that the US will not tolerate “a narco-terrorist”.
Moreno also reaffirmed the alliance with Colombia and its strategic importance, while a possible decertification of the country for its fight against drug cartels is being debated.
On August 14, 2025, the US deployed around 4,000 high-level military agents, including submarines and warplanes, to the Caribbean as part of a deterrence and complementary strategy against drug cartels declared terrorist organizations. This measure, driven by Trump administration policies, coincides with speeches by figures such as Senator Bernie Moreno, who put pressure on governments such as Venezuela. A turning point that resonates among the Hispanic community, especially for those who live the impact of these decisions from home.
