Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine made a surprise visit to Puerto Rico on Sept. 8, as the United States bolsters its military buildup in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels.
The visit came as the Pentagon deployed 10 F-35 stealth fighters to a Puerto Rico airbase and warships to conduct operations against drug cartels in the region.
Hegseth told sailors and Marines on the USS Iwo Jima warship off Puerto Rico that they were not deployed to the Caribbean for training but instead sent to the “front lines” of a critical counter-narcotics mission.
Hegseth said in a video posted online that the service members were being sent to the region to serve “on the front lines of defending the American homeland” from narco-trafficking….