The US has ordered 10 F-35 fighter jets to be deployed to Puerto Rico as part of its drug cartel fight, sources told The Post Friday — just days after a lethal strike by US forces wiped out nearly a dozen Venezuelan narco-terrorists.
The fighter jets, which will only boost the US military’s presence in the southern Caribbean region, are due to arrive next week, a source close to the Trump administration said.
The jets are being deployed as part of President Trump’s vow to crack down on designated narco-terrorist organizations.
The military has already deployed warships to the area in recent weeks.
The development comes just days after Trump revealed the US military had killed 11 people in a “drug-carrying boat” off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump insisted those obliterated in the strike were members of the notorious Tren de Aragua criminal gang.
“TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of [Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere,” Trump said in Truth Social post shortly after the attack.
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“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
