San Juan, Puerto Rico – US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses and Air Force Secretary General Dan Kane arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday as the US strengthened its military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean.
The arrival comes more than a week after hundreds of US Marines carried hundreds of US Marines deployed to Puerto Rico for training exercises.
Puerto Rico Governor Jennifer Gonzalez said Hegus and Kane visited the US territory to help those involved in training.
“We acknowledge President Trump and his administration's strategic importance to Puerto Rico's efforts to protect the nation's national security and thank the drug cartel and drug conductor Nicolas Maduro for their fight,” Gonzalez said.
Hegseth and Caine met with officials at the 156th Wing Muniz Airlines National Guard Base in Carolina, just east of the capital San Juan.
Gonzalez said Hegses spoke to nearly 300 soldiers at the base and thanked those he described as “American warriors” for their work.
The visit said on Saturday that it targets drug cartels as the US prepares to deploy 10 F-35 fighters to Puerto Rico. No information about the development was made public, so people only spoke on the condition of anonymity.
On September 2, Trump announced that the US had departed from Venezuela and had struck in the Southern Caribbean against a ship suspected of carrying drugs. Eleven people have been killed in a rare US military operation in the Caribbean, and the president said the ship is run by Venezuelan gangster Tren de Aragua.
The Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister praised the strike and said the US should kill all drug traffickers “heavy” but the response from other Caribbean leaders was more repressed.
Barbadian Foreign Minister Kelly Simmons recently told The Associated Press that members of regional trade zone CARICOM had sent a letter to the US Secretary of State for open communication on development, saying they wanted to avoid being surprised by the US moves towards Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Maduro on Friday vowed to protect Venezuela's sovereignty and urged Trump to engage in dialogue to avoid conflict.
The ongoing development of Marines and fighter jets in Puerto Rico have torn some in US territory. In this territory, memories of the US Navy using nearby islands as training areas in the 1940s remain fresh, and cleanup is still ongoing.
The death of civilian security guard David Sanus Rodriguez in April 1999 caused massive protests and ultimately led to US forces leaving the island. Rodriguez was killed after two 500-pound bombs were dropped near him as part of his training mission at Vieques.
Dozens of people gathered at National Guard bases in Carolina on Sunday to condemn the island's increase in US troops.
They had signs saying “it's not in war” and “it's not in PR's military base.”
Organizers also warned against the use of Puerto Rico as a setting for potential US actions in the region.
“We condemn the existence of military bases in Puerto Rico,” said Sonia Santiago Hernandez, founder of his mother against the war.
Gonzalez dismisses these concerns and says Puerto Rico is playing a key role in Trump's ongoing fight against drug trafficking, representing the US border in the Caribbean.
Siul López, a spokesman for the Puerto Rican National Guard, told the AP that a group of Marines currently training on the island has not been linked to the US Maritime Forces recently deployed at Caribbean Waters.
“One thing has nothing to do with another,” he said, adding that training in Puerto Rico was pre-planned.
Lopez said he doesn't know exactly that training exercises in Puerto Rico were originally planned, but he pointed out that such exercises were usually planned about a year ago.
He said the training began on August 31, but he doesn't know when it will end or how many Marines are involved.
He said they practice amphibious operations on various vehicles.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez said last week he estimated that more than 1,000 Marines are on the island.
The US Marines issued a statement on August 31, pointing out that Marines and seafarers from the 22nd Marine Corps expedition will be conducting amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
“Puerto Rico's challenging terrain and tropical climate will provide the ideal environment for the 22nd MEU to carry out realistic amphibious training and hone professional skills such as patrol, reconnaissance and survival skills, ensuring a high level of preparation for positive equipment,” the Marines said.
It was not immediately clear whether Hegseth and Caine were planning to stay in Puerto Rico or visit other sites while they were on the island.
National Guard spokesman Lopez declined to comment on the details of the visit.
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Associated Press reporters were Weissert in Washington, DC and Associated Press videographer Alejandro Granadillo, with Aperjandro Granadillo of San Juan.