The US military is modernizing a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, according to a Reuters visual investigation. This suggests preparations for sustained operations that could support possible actions inside Venezuela.
Work at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico — closed by the Navy more than 20 years ago — began Sept. 17, when crews began clearing and resurfacing taxiways leading to the runway.
Until the Navy withdrew from the facility in 2004, Roosevelt Roads was one of the largest U.S. naval bases in the world. The base occupies a strategic location and offers ample space for equipment storage, a US official said.
In addition to improvements to landing and takeoff capabilities at Roosevelt Roads, the United States is building facilities at civilian airports in Puerto Rico and St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The two US territories are located about 800 kilometers from Venezuela.
Reuters spoke to three US military officials and three maritime experts, who said new construction in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands points to preparations that could allow the US military to conduct operations inside Venezuela. The president, Nicolás Maduro, has repeatedly alleged that the United States seeks to overthrow him.
“I think all of this is designed to scare the Maduro regime and the generals around him, in the hope of creating divisions,” Christopher Hernández-Roy, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, told Reuters.
To monitor US military activity in the region over the past two months, Reuters photographed US military bases and reviewed satellite images, ship and flight tracking data, and social media posts. The news agency also tracked the movements of US military ships through on-the-ground reporting and publicly accessible photographs and videos.
The military deployment in the region is the largest not related to humanitarian aid since 1994, when the United States sent two aircraft carriers and more than 20,000 troops to Haiti to participate in “Operation Democracy Support.”
Since early September, the United States has carried out at least 14 attacks against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, leaving 61 dead.
The attacks on suspected drug trafficking vessels increased tensions with Venezuela and Colombia and highlighted a region of the world that has received limited resources from the US military in recent years.
When asked about military expansion in the region, the White House stated that President Donald Trump had promised during his election campaign to combat drug cartels in the region.
“He has taken unprecedented steps to stop the scourge of narcoterrorism that has led to the unnecessary deaths of innocent Americans,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to Reuters.
The US military deployment in the Caribbean began in August with the arrival of warships, a nuclear submarine, fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft.
The Ford carrier strike group, with approximately 10,000 personnel and dozens of aircraft and weapons systems, is directed from the Adriatic Sea. One of the Ford destroyers set sail from Gibraltar on October 29, according to satellite images and ship tracking data.
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Development of military bases in the Caribbean
Some of the most significant infrastructure improvements are taking place at the former Roosevelt Roads base, where taxiways are being modernized with improvements that analysts say will allow them to be used by both fighter and cargo aircraft.
Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and senior advisor to CSIS, said the changes were consistent with preparations for an increase in military aircraft landings and takeoffs.
In addition to the renovation of taxiways, Reuters noted the installation of portable air traffic support equipment and other mobile safety equipment.
Satellite images taken on October 29 show 20 new tents southeast of the runway, near an abandoned aircraft hangar.
Hernández-Roy, a CSIS investigator, told Reuters that it was possible that the US military was simply repairing potholes. But he added: “If their focus is now on the Western Hemisphere, it makes perfect sense that they would want to reopen what was once a huge naval base and make sure it can accommodate the variety of aircraft used by the US military.”
Reuters also detected significant changes at Rafael Hernández Airport, the second busiest civil airport in Puerto Rico.
By mid-October, the U.S. military had installed communications equipment and a mobile air traffic control tower, typically used to coordinate large numbers of aircraft in war zones or after disasters.
According to military experts, mobile air traffic control towers are used to coordinate larger numbers of aircraft entering and leaving a region.
Satellite images show the construction of an ammunition depot at the airport, although experts consulted by Reuters said it was not clear what type of weapons could be stored there.
“That’s very important,” Cancian said. “They could be used in the short term for an operation against Venezuela.” However, he acknowledged that the facility could also indicate long-term planning against anti-drug operations.
On nearby Santa Cruz Island, satellite images taken in September and October also show construction activity at a civilian airport.
The images, from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, show construction in progress near the apron, where planes are parked and maintained. Upgrading the platforms could allow more US military aircraft to park and refuel, US officials told Reuters.
A video filmed by a local resident at the request of Reuters shows a new radar system at the airport.
Albert Bryan Jr., governor of the United States Virgin Islands, stated in a statement issued by his office that, while there is some level of coordination with the US military regarding the deployment of troops to the territory, his office does not have access to the operational details or future planning of such operations.
“Considers that the regional presence of the US armed forces strengthens security and deters drug and weapons trafficking through the territory,” the statement said.
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CSIS’ Hernandez-Roy said the changes could be aimed at supporting the large number of US military aircraft arriving in the region. The improvements could also help fill gaps in radar surveillance capabilities if drug traffickers choose to use aircraft instead of ships.
“The only area without radar coverage that represents a constant problem for the interception of drug trafficking flights is located precisely over Haiti, and it is like a large black hole,” added Hernández-Roy.
According to the State Department, Haiti is used as a transit point for the transportation of cocaine and marijuana from South America to the United States.
The Haitian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sending warships to base near Venezuela
Reports from Reuters and US officials indicate that since August, the Trump administration has deployed at least 13 warships, five support ships and one nuclear submarine to the region, from various naval bases and global deployments, including the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, the largest ship in its class.
Eight warships remain in the region, along with support vessels.
Additionally, a former merchant vessel, the MV Ocean Trader, was observed docking in Puerto Rico and St. Croix, and off the coast of Venezuela. While there is little public information available about the MV Ocean Trader, experts believe it is linked to US Special Forces.
Brent Sadler, a maritime security expert at the Heritage Foundation, said the ship has the capacity to deploy helicopters used by special forces and could also be used to land forces.
Reuters identified the ship in satellite images 85 kilometers off San Cristobal in late September, but could not determine when it was deployed to the region. It was last seen docking in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in late October.
Three guided missile destroyers — the USS Jason Dunham, the USS Gravely and the USS Stockdale — were also deployed to the Caribbean.
Reuters detected the arrival of support ships, including two refueling tankers, the USNS Kanawha and the USNS Joshua Humphreys, a hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, and an underwater navigation systems test ship, the USNS Waters.
With information from Reuters
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