The Caribbean has once again become a theater of U.S. national security. Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela has been accused of working with criminal cartels that traffic drugs, weapons and money across the region. The Trump administration has responded with visible military deployments, including advanced aircraft and naval assets forward-based in Puerto Rico.

During an unannounced visit to the USS Iwo Jima off our shores on Sept. 8, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told sailors and Marines that “this isn’t training” but a real mission to disrupt narco-terrorist networks. The Pentagon has also sent 10 F-35 fighters to the island to reinforce the campaign. On the same day, Maduro denounced the U.S. presence in Puerto Rico and criticized the island territory’s governor for participating in

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