The San Antonio class<\/a> amphibious transport dock ship USS Fort Lauderdale<\/a> has left Mayport, Florida, and is returning to the Caribbean to rejoin the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG)\/22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), a U.S. official confirmed to The War Zone Monday morning. The vessel left on Sunday and is now south of Miami in the Straits of Florida, according to an online ship tracker<\/a>. It will provide additional air and troop support once it arrives on station. San Antonio class ships<\/a> can launch and land two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters or two MV-22 tilt rotor aircraft<\/a> or up to four AH-1Z, UH-1Y or MH-60 helicopters at once. In addition, they can carry Landing Craft Air Cushion<\/a> (LCAC) hovercraft or other landing craft and boats in their well deck, and can transport up to 800 Marines.<\/p>\n The Fort Lauderdale is set to rejoin a flotilla of at least eight other surface warships plus a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine arrayed for an enhanced counter-narcotics mission also aimed, at least partially, at Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro. The Henry J. Kaiser class fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha is in the region as well, the Navy official told us. In addition, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and one of its escort ships, the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, are currently in the western Mediterranean Sea, heading toward the Caribbean<\/a>, a U.S. Navy official told The War Zone. It could take as long as another week for those ships to arrive in the Caribbean, the official added.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd0e\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8Final Alignment: CSG 12 Appears almost Ready for Southcom Pivot<\/p>\n The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) remains visually unescorted in the Central Mediterranean (Nov 1). This could be a calculated tactical decision to facilitate the nearby replenishment of a key escort.<\/p>\n The UNREP\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/S8FoZQFajz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The MV Ocean Trader<\/a> \u2013 a roll-on\/roll-off cargo ship modified to carry special operators and their gear \u2013 has also appeared in several places around the Caribbean in recent weeks. Navy officials and U.S. Special Operations Command have declined to comment on this vessel. The ship, which TWZ first reported on<\/a> back in 2016, has been something of a ghost since entering service, popping up in hot spots<\/a> around the globe.<\/p>\n There is also an increasing buildup on the land. Reuters noted<\/a> that the U.S. is continuing to make improvements <\/a>at the former Roosevelt Roads Navy base for use by combat and cargo aircraft. Since August, the facility has been used as a central logistics hub, with frequent landings by airlifters and by aircraft from the 22nd MEU as well. The new additions include Mobile Aircraft Arresting Systems<\/a> for stopping incoming fast jets. As we have reported in the past<\/a>, Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighters are already operating from there and the MAAS can help support I fighters during emergencies. The incoming USS Gerald R. Ford\u2019s air wing, for instance, could use the base as a divert location.<\/p>\n The military has also set up 20 tents at the installation.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udccdJos\u00e9 Aponte de la Torre Airport, #UnitedStates<\/a> (\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8)<\/p>\n Recent @Reuters<\/a> photos from Jos\u00e9 Aponte de la Torre Airport viewing the ongoing C-17A Globemaster III logistics operations unloading cargo at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. pic.twitter.com\/mgpPjJxwOu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) November 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Satellite images show construction of an ammunition storage facility at the airport at Rafael Hernandez Airport, the second-busiest civilian airport in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n Reuters also found significant changes at Rafael Hernandez Airport. The US military has moved in communications gear and a mobile air traffic control tower. Satellite images show construction of an ammunition storage facility at the airport -Reuters pic.twitter.com\/L3lRCwr3kU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 barry with the NED (@bonzerbarry) November 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Beyond Puerto Rico, the U.S. has set up a new radar system at an airport in St. Croix.<\/p>\n A AN\/TPS-75, which acts as the primary land-based tactical air defense radar for the U.S. Air Force, seen deployed late last month at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on the Island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, just to the southeast of Puerto Rico and roughly 450 miles to the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eaC3vEybgU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) November 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the buildup, the Trump administration\u2019s goal remains unclear. In an interview on Sunday with CBS News\u2019 60 Minutes, President Donald Trump offered a mixed message about his plans for Venezuela.<\/p>\n Asked if the U.S. was going to war with the South American nation, Trump answered, \u201cI doubt it. I don\u2019t think so. But they\u2019ve been treating us very badly, not only on drugs \u2013 they\u2019ve dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn\u2019t want, people from prisons \u2013 they emptied their prisons into our country.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the interview, the president was asked if \u201cMaduro\u2019s days as president are numbered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would say \u2018yeah. I think so, yeah,\u201d Trump responded. The American leader, however, declined to offer any details about what that meant.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not gonna tell you what I\u2019m gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn\u2019t going to do it,\u201d he explained when queried about whether he will order land attacks in Venezuela.<\/p>\n As for why the Ford carrier strike group is heading toward the Caribbean, Trump explained, \u201cit\u2019s gotta be somewhere. It\u2019s a big one.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials in Russia, which recently ratified a mutual support agreement<\/a> with Venezuela, have voiced their support for Maduro.<\/p>\n Moscow \u201cresolutely condemns the use of excessive military force\u201d by the U.S. in the Caribbean,\u201d Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said<\/a>, adding that Russia fully supports the Venezuelan government in its efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and maintain the region as a \u201czone of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Amid the growing tensions, Russian aircraft have landed in Venezuela. potentially with military supplies, Defense News reported last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n A russian Il-76 landed in Venezuela following Maduro’s appeal to the russian Federation for military assistance, \u2013 Defense News.<\/p>\n These aircraft were previously used to transport weapons, military equipment, and even russian mercenaries. pic.twitter.com\/M6cC7Srwz8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 J\u00fcrgen Nauditt \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@jurgen_nauditt) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, as Trump maintains a level of strategic ambiguity about his objectives toward Maduro, the U.S \u201chas begun detailed planning for a new mission to send American troops and intelligence officers into Mexico to target drug cartels,\u201d NBC News reported Monday morning<\/a>.\u00a0 That possibility and how it could happen were subjects we examined in great detail back in February, which you can read about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n While no deployments are imminent, training for such a mission is already underway, the network added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. troops, many of whom would be from Joint Special Operations Command, would operate under the authority of the U.S. intelligence community, known as Title 50 status,\u201d NBC posited, citing two anonymous U.S. officials. \u201dThey said officers from the CIA also would participate.\u201d<\/p>\n These operations would have U.S. troops in Mexico \u201cmainly use drone strikes to hit drug labs and cartel members and leaders,\u201d the report continued. \u201cSome of the drones that special forces would use require operators to be on the ground to use them effectively and safely, the officials said.\u201d<\/p>\n As we have previously wrote<\/a>, such an operation would be precedent-setting. While U.S. troops like Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group routinely work with Mexican forces, training them to hit cartels and serving as observers on raids, there has yet to be a known U.S. military kinetic action inside Mexico.<\/p>\n \t\t The most famous example of a covert strike using U.S. troops under Title 50 authority was the 2011 Navy SEAL attack on al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, but what NBC is describing is a much more sustained operation with increased risks, a former White House official under the first Trump administration told us.<\/p>\n \u201cThis seems like more of a campaign,\u201d Javed Ali<\/a>, who worked in the National Security Council\u2019s (NSC) counterterrorism unit during the first Trump administration, explained. \u201cWhat the administration is trying to achieve under Title 50 is ostensibly to use military force, but covertly. But in this day of social media, it is harder to not have that revealed. They lose the element of surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n As we have previously reported<\/a>, Mexico\u2019s increasingly well-armed drug cartels pose a serious threat to external forces. Some cartel units are have adopted some of the latest features of warfare. They have been using drones<\/a> to attack enemies<\/a> for years now, for instance. These organizations also\u00a0often move around in increasingly well-protected<\/a> so-called \u201cnarco tanks.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Ali raised an additional concern. Would the cartels, who already have operatives in the United States, strike back if they were attacked in Mexico?<\/p>\n \u201cThe enemy gets a vote,\u201d Ali suggested. \u201cWould the cartels be so bold to actually conduct attacks inside the United States is an open question. If a cartel lab gets blown up or cartel leaders are killed in drone strikes, how would they respond? Inside the government, I would have to think they are looking at all those contingencies.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, even with these risks, it seems clear the Trump is willing to go further than his predecessors in hopes of significantly reducing the flow of narcotics into the United States. Public support for such actions will likely be dictated by losses of American troops \u2014 if any \u2014 in the process, should such operations move forward. It\u2019s also not clear where the Mexican government stands on this issue at this time.<\/p>\n It is unknown exactly what the Trump administration will do when it comes to countering cartels and taking on Maduro. However, while U.S. strikes against the Venezuelan cartels have been limited to attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats, the possibility exists that America could soon find itself conducting kinetic strikes on two fronts in its own backyard.<\/p>\n Update: 5:03 PM Eastern \u2013<\/p>\n The Navy provided us with some context about why the Fort Lauderdale was in Mayport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) returned to Naval Station Mayport from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2, 2025, for a mid-deployment voyage repair (MDVR) and maintenance period. NS Mayport\u2019s facilities offered the most expedient option with the best infrastructure, maintenance, repair, and logistical support for the maintenance period.<\/p>\n A Mid-Deployment voyage repair (MDVR) is a period, roughly halfway through a ship\u2019s deployment, where necessary and preventative maintenance and repairs are made. This MDVR allowed Fort Lauderdale to conduct vital maintenance to the ship with the support of in-port services.<\/p>\n In-port maintenance and logistical support enable the ship to correct and maintain materiel readiness, warfighter readiness, and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com<\/p>\n Howard is a Senior Staff Writer for The War Zone, and a former Senior Managing Editor for Military Times. Prior to this, he covered military affairs for the Tampa Bay Times as a Senior Writer. Howard’s work has appeared in various publications including Yahoo News, RealClearDefense, and Air Force Times.<\/p>\n \t\t![\"ATLANTIC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/9166046.jpg\")
The San Antonio class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) is on its way back to the Caribbean to rejoin the ongoing enhanced counter-narcotics mission. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Savannah L. Hardesty) Petty Officer 2nd Class Savannah Hardesty<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762217468_473_hqdefault.jpg\"\/)
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