US deploys elite troops by air closer to Venezuela - WSJ
US special forces and aircraft with equipment headed to the Caribbean Basin (Photo: Getty Images)
A large number of US aircraft carrying special forces, as well as cargo planes, were deployed this week to the Caribbean Basin. The planes also transported equipment, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ, citing US officials and open-source flight data, found that at least 10 American CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, used by US Special Operations Forces, were deployed from Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico to the Caribbean Basin on Monday.
It is also reported that C-17 cargo planes arrived in Puerto Rico from the US military bases at Fort Stewart and Fort Campbell.
A US official told The Wall Street Journal that these aircraft transported military personnel and equipment. The source did not specify the types of troops or equipment carried.
It is known that Cannon Air Force Base hosts the 27th Special Operations Wing. At the same time, Fort Campbell is home to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, an elite unit of the US Special Operations Forces, and the 101st Airborne Division.
These units specialize in supporting high-risk personnel infiltration and extraction missions, as well as providing direct air and combat support.
For context, Russia has begun evacuating the families of its diplomats from Venezuela due to rising tensions in the Caribbean region and US threats against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Escalation between Venezuela and the US
Recently, the US once again intercepted oil tankers heading from Venezuela. The administration of US President Donald Trump explained that this was a signal to Nicolás Maduro that he must step down from power.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commented on the recent interception of the Venezuelan tanker, saying that such actions will continue until Caracas returns the stolen assets to the US.
It should be noted that similar statements about returning assets were made by Trump himself.
"Venezuela is surrounded by the largest armada in the history of South America. It will only grow, and the shock for them will be unlike anything they have ever seen - until they return to the United States of America all the oil, land, and other property they previously stole from us,” the White House chief previously wrote.
What Trump meant
Hugo Chávez, the late Venezuelan leader and predecessor of Nicolás Maduro, nationalized oil fields in the first decade of this century, forcing US and other Western companies by decree to transfer their controlling stakes to the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA.
