'They'll Be Shot Down': Trump Moves F-35s to Puerto Rico, Warns Venezuela He's Not Messing Around

President Donald Trump is escalating America’s fight against drug cartels and the rogue regimes that enable them, ordering a deployment of advanced U.S. airpower to the Caribbean.

According to CBS News, ten F-35 fighter jets have been moved to Puerto Rico, where they are positioned for use against cartel operations or hostile Venezuelan aircraft. The move follows two tense military encounters this week involving Venezuela.

On Tuesday, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike on a vessel Trump identified as carrying narcotics, killing 11 traffickers onboard.

Speaking from Mexico City on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear that the administration is not interested in symbolic gestures.
“The U.S. has long, for many, many years, established intelligence that allowed us to interdict and stop drug boats. And we did that. And it doesn’t work. Interdiction doesn’t work,” Rubio said.
“What will stop them is when you blow them up. Instead of interdicting it, on the president’s orders, we blew it up. And it’ll happen again. Maybe it’s happening right now.”

On Thursday, U.S. officials reported that Venezuelan fighter jets made an aggressive move near an American warship off Venezuela’s coast. Trump immediately clarified that American forces have full authority to defend themselves.
“If they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shot down,” he said, according to Reuters.

The New York Times reported the F-35s were repositioned specifically to “deter more Venezuelan flyovers.” This follows a major naval show of strength in August, when three Aegis guided-missile destroyers — the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson — were dispatched to international waters off Venezuela.

Trump has already taken decisive steps to redefine U.S. counter-narcotics operations. In July, he signed an order authorizing military force against drug cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law.

Currently, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group — comprised of the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, and USS Fort Lauderdale — is stationed near Puerto Rico with roughly 4,500 sailors. They are joined by the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, bringing an additional 2,200 Marines to the theater.

Asked about the administration’s hard line, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said:
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel.”