Top military leaders to visit Puerto Rico to thank deployed troops for service

Two of the U.S. military’s top leaders will visit Puerto Rico on Monday to meet with soldiers and express gratitude for their work supporting missions in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Pentagon officials announced the visit in a memo on Sunday, saying the trip would include meetings with soldiers serving in Puerto Rico and sailors operating in the Caribbean.

“Chief of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and SEAC David L. Isom are visiting Puerto Rico for a second time on Nov. 24, 2025, to engage with service members and thank them for their outstanding support of regional missions,” the media advisory said. “They will also visit and thank Sailors operating at sea for their dedicated, unwavering service in the SOUTHCOM area of ​​responsibility.”

Caine and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth marked their first stop in September to show support for the Trump administration’s training of troops on the island.

WHILE THE USA ACCELERATES THE FIGHT WITH NAVAL FORCES IN THE CARIBBEAN, WAR MINISTER HEGSETH LANDED IN PUERTO RICO

The meeting took place at Muñiz Air Base in Carolina, outside San Juan, and was attended by top brass, including Puerto Rico National Guard Commander Gen. Carlos José Rivera-Román, Public Safety Secretary Brig. General Arthur Garffer and other senior military leaders.

Hegseth spoke to about 300 soldiers on the base, thanking them and describing them as “American warriors.” The war minister also confirmed that those serving in the Armed Forces will be the most equipped and prepared in the world.

The latest visit comes amid rising tensions in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. military expands its maritime footprint near Venezuela as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to stem the flow of drugs from Latin America.

SOUTHCOM COMMANDER ANNOUNCES SUDDEN RETIREMENT OVER TRUMP’S DRUG WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN

Fox News confirmed that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Cain will host his European military counterparts on Tuesday to discuss Ukraine’s security guarantees. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Hegseth announced the official launch of Operation Southern Spear, a mission targeting narco-terrorist networks in Latin America.

Hegseth said in X at the time that U.S. Southern Command and Joint Task Force Southern Spear would lead the mission to defend the homeland and dismantle narco-terrorist networks in the Western Hemisphere.

“This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and protects our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” Hegseth said.

HEGSETH ANNOUNCED ‘OPERATION TO REMOVE NARCO-TERRORISTS FROM OUR HEMISPHERE’

Hegseth said the ship was smuggling drugs. (Ministry of War)

Since early September, U.S. military forces have carried out several deadly attacks against narcotics vessels operated by terrorist organizations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, destroying dozens of vessels affiliated with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang and Colombia’s Ejército de Liberación Nacional. An estimated 82 suspected narco-terrorists were killed in the attacks and three survived.

The campaign began with an attack on September 2, in which 11 alleged Tren de Aragua members were killed, and continued through October and November with a series of targeted operations that eliminated dozens of people along known smuggling routes.

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US forces hit submarines, fishing boats, and high-speed vessels; These include an ELN-affiliated ship that came under criticism from Colombia’s president after three people were killed.

A few attacks occurred near the coast of Venezuela, while others occurred in the Eastern Pacific, where recent operations have been concentrated.