Top U.S. military leaders are set to visit Puerto Rico to thank troops for their contributions to ongoing Caribbean operations targeting drug networks and enhancing regional security.
Two of the U.S. military’s highest-ranking officials will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday to meet with service members and express appreciation for their efforts in supporting missions throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
The Pentagon announced the visit in a memo on Sunday, detailing that the trip will include engagements with troops stationed in Puerto Rico and sailors operating in the Caribbean region.
“Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and SEAC David L. Isom are visiting Puerto Rico on November 24, 2025, for the second time to engage with service members and thank them for their outstanding support to regional missions,” the media advisory stated. “They will also visit and thank Sailors operating at sea for their dedicated, unwavering service in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.”
This visit follows a previous trip in September, during which Caine and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited to show support for troops training on the island. The earlier meeting took place at Muñiz Air Base in Carolina, just outside San Juan, and included senior military figures such as Puerto Rico National Guard Adjutant General Carlos José Rivera-Román and Public Safety Secretary Brig. Gen. Arthur Garffer.
During the September visit, Hegseth addressed nearly 300 soldiers at the base, praising their commitment and referring to them as “American warriors.” He emphasized that those serving in the Armed Forces would be the best equipped and prepared in the world.
The upcoming visit comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Caribbean Sea, as the U.S. military expands its naval presence near Venezuela. This expansion is part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to disrupt drug trafficking from Latin America.
Earlier this month, Hegseth announced the initiation of Operation Southern Spear, a mission aimed at dismantling narco-terror networks across Latin America. He stated on social media platform X that U.S. Southern Command and Joint Task Force Southern Spear would lead the operation to protect the homeland and eliminate narco-terrorist networks in the Western Hemisphere.
“This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” Hegseth remarked.
Since early September, U.S. military forces have conducted multiple lethal strikes against narcotics vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. These operations have resulted in the destruction of dozens of ships linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang and Colombia’s Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), with an estimated 82 suspected narco-terrorists killed and three survivors.
The campaign commenced on September 2, with a strike that killed 11 alleged members of Tren de Aragua. It continued through October and November with a series of targeted operations that eliminated numerous threats along known trafficking routes.
U.S. forces have targeted submersibles, fishing boats, and high-speed vessels, including one ELN-affiliated craft that drew criticism from Colombia’s president after three men were killed during the operation.
Several of these strikes occurred near the coast of Venezuela, while others have been concentrated in the eastern Pacific, where recent operations have been focused.
As military leaders prepare to visit Puerto Rico, their engagement underscores the ongoing commitment of the U.S. military to combat drug trafficking and enhance regional security in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Source: Original article