Part of the American warships deployed in the Caribbean Sea during the period before the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro were relocated, and two of them would be north of Cuba, according to Washington Post.
At least the boats USS Iwo Jima and USS San Antonio would have been positioned north of Cubain the Atlantic Ocean, according to defense officials, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
One of them also said that one of the ships could return to its home port in Norfolk in the coming weeks, although “the Trump administration is expected to continue military operations in the region.”
The ships remain assigned to US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in much of Latin America, and could be moved back to the Caribbean if necessary, a second official added.
Sites that track vessels, such as cruisingearth.comToday, both ships are located off the coast of Puerto Rico.
These movements, according to the report, reduce the number of US troops in the Caribbean by a few thousand, to approximately 12,000and they come while it is still unclear whether President Donald Trump will deploy ground forces to Venezuela to stabilize security there.
However, the transfer highlights that its main mission has been completed and indicates that the Trump administration could reduce the number of ships it maintains in the regionas it balances multiple national security priorities.
Some Air Force assets, including CV-22 Special Operations aircraft used for combat search and rescue and MC-130s needed for aerial refueling, have also departed, a third U.S. official said.
Both aircraft were used to support the raid against Maduro, after whose capture by members of the Army’s Delta Force, he was transferred by helicopter to Iwo Jima.
Reinforcements from summer 2025
The US fleet in the Caribbean was reinforced over the summer, with a three-ship task force led by the Iwo Jima. The ship, carrying Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, deployed alongside the San Antonio and the USS Fort Lauderdale, which was still in the Caribbean on Wednesday.
The troop buildup increased significantly in October, when Hegseth ordered the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and several associated warships to relocate to European waters in the Caribbean, the report noted.
Since then, military vessels have participated in the detention and confiscation of oil tankers that are under sanctions by the United States Government, and that have been transferred to ports in that country.
Marco Rubio, after Maduro’s capture: “If I were in Havana I would be worried”
After the military incursion in Venezuela, Threats against Cuba were part of the rhetoric of the US executive. In that sense, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said during the press conference after Maduro’s arrest that if “I were in Havana, I would be worried, even a little.”
For his part, President Trump stated that the island is a “very similar case” to Venezuela. “Cuba is something we will end up talking about,” he said.
Recently, they transcended demands from the White House to the new executive headed by Delcy Rodríguez, including the Breaking relations with CubaRussia, China and Iran.
This condition also puts pressure on the Cuban Government, which for decades has relied on Venezuela’s logistical support for its survival, in the midst of the strong and prolonged economic crisis that the island is going through.
