Hegseth in Puerto Rico as Pentagon eyes island for military usage

Source: Washington Post

September 8, 2025 at 1:58 p.m. EDT


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior defense officials visited Puerto Rico on Monday, as the Pentagon looks to intensify military operations against drug cartels based in Latin American countries.

The visit was announced in a social media post by Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón. It follows last week’s deadly military strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea that President Donald Trump said was smuggling narcotics from Venezuela and bound for the United States. Eleven “narco-terrorists” were killed in the operation, the president has said.

Senior administration officials have forecast that more strikes are possible, with Vice President JD Vance saying Saturday on social media that “killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.” The Trump administration has not produced evidence verifying who — and what — was aboard the vessel when it was blown up.

The Pentagon is weighing plans to make Puerto Rico a part of its operations in the region, possibly conducting military flights out of the island territory, said two U.S. officials, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. The effort includes the possible deployment of fighter jets to the island, one of the officials said, confirming a detail reported earlier by Reuters.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/08/puerto-rico-hegseth-cartels/

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WTAF? Doesn't the Pentagon already have that info? There was a base - "Roosevelt Roads" that was closed in 2004 (I expect as part of all the base closures/realignments that went on over the decade before and during then).

They are STILL recovering from Cat 4 Hurricane Maria that hit them in 2017 and knocked out their big doppler, plus killed over 2000 residents. There have been 5 Hurricanes that came close to or hit them just in the past 5 years. Plus they STILL have a power generation and distribution issue there since the government would rather spend $$$ on cosplay than helping to support their infrastructure needs.