The orders from the Pentagon came down last weekend. Quietly. No ceremony. No speeches.
The United States is continuing to ramp up its military posture in the Caribbean under Operation Southern Spear, a mission that started as a counternarcotics effort and has since grown teeth. What began as drug interdiction has, in recent weeks, expanded into sustained pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The latest move is the deployment of F-35A stealth fighters from the Vermont Air National Guard. That’s not window dressing. That’s real airpower.
According to a U.S. official, aircraft from the 158th Fighter Wing are heading south. How many jets, when they arrive, and where they’ll be based—those details remain locked up. But officials tracking recent operations say the old Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico, already busy with Defense Department aircraft, is a likely hub.
Back home, the signals are clear enough. Vermont media report the unit is already gearing up. Lt. Col. Meghan Smith confirmed to Vermont Public that the wing has received a federal mobilization order. She stuck to the script—no timelines, no locations—but made one thing clear: her people are ready to go where they’re told.
Gov. Phil Scott wasn’t briefed on the mission either. “The Pentagon issued the mobilization orders under Title 10,” he said. Translation: Washington took the wheel. The Guard is federal now.
The arrival of the F-35A matters. These will be the first U.S. Air Force tactical fighters deployed to the Caribbean. Compared with the Marine Corps F-35B aircraft already operating out of Puerto Rico, the F-35A flies farther and hits harder, carrying 2,000-pound guided munitions. In plain English, Southern Spear just got a sharper point.
And this isn’t happening in isolation.
In recent days, flight-tracking data has shown U.S. surveillance aircraft flying out of Curaçao and the Dominican Republic, operating over international waters just north of Caracas. They stayed outside Venezuelan airspace—no violations, no excuses—but loitered long enough to make their presence known.
These weren’t routine flights. The patterns matched classic intelligence and surveillance missions. No Pentagon press release followed. None was needed.
Flying north of Caracas gives U.S. forces a clear look at air traffic, coastal movement, and military activity tied to the Maduro government—all while staying inside the legal lines. It’s an old playbook: watch closely, stay lawful, and let the other side feel the pressure.
The fighters and surveillance aircraft are backed by more muscle.
Electronic-warfare aircraft have been spotted operating from Roosevelt Roads. Combat search-and-rescue planes and helicopters are now positioned in Puerto Rico. Tanker aircraft are spread across the region, operating out of the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands, extending range and time on station for everything else in the air.
Pentagon sources describe the posture as one suited for sustained tactical air combat operations over hostile territory. That’s a long way from chasing smugglers in speedboats.
At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to lower the temperature. President Donald Trump, she said, is not looking for a prolonged war with Venezuela. The objective, she stressed, remains stopping illegal drugs from reaching the United States.
Fair enough. That’s the line.
But when stealth fighters deploy, electronic-warfare aircraft arrive, surveillance planes start orbiting north of a foreign capital, and tankers fan out across the Caribbean, the signal is unmistakable.
This isn’t about talking anymore. It’s about being in position.
