Hegseth Visits Puerto Rico, Says Deployment in Caribbean 'Not Training'

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2 days ago

Above: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses U.S. troops at a base in Puerto Rico on Sept. 8, 2025. Image copyright: Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González on X

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Venezuela has become a narco-state and a key transit hub for cocaine shipments under Maduro's criminal and illegitimate leadership — posing a threat to the stability of the Western Hemisphere and the world. The U.S. buildup in the Caribbean is both an effort to rein in maritime drug trafficking and a show of force to the authoritarian Maduro regime. The U.S. doesn't want to start a war.

Atlantic Council

Establishment-critical narrative

Washington has carried out a strike that amounts to summary executions of suspected drug traffickers without due process or evidence of their guilt, in a blatant breach of international law, as part of a doomed-to-fail regime change attempt disguised as anti-drug operations. Congress must act to prevent this dangerous precedent of bombing alleged drug traffickers from spiraling into a broader conflict that serves no legitimate American interest.

Responsible Statecraft

Anti-Maduro narrative

There's no way that Venezuela's narco-dictatorship will eventually stop its drug-trafficking activities, a profitable business that has been weaponized as part of an anti-America campaign and that poses a threat to regional stability. Congress should authorize the use of military force to enforce its laws against an, at best, illegitimate government that is complicit to attacks against the U.S. Maduro must be arrested or deposed.

The Epoch Times The Washington Times

Pro-Maduro narrative

U.S. imperialism seeks to depose a legitimate government and seize Venezuela's oil and gas resources under the false pretext of fighting drugs, using fabricated charges to justify military aggression against a sovereign nation. If Washington had a genuine interest in combating drug trafficking, it would investigate domestic distribution networks and CIA-linked narcotics operations.

Venezuelanalysis Ultimas Noticias

Cynical narrative

Whatever happens in the near future, prospects are dire for Venezuela. If Maduro's narco-dictatorship proves resilient to the U.S.' counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, there will be little hope left for the country. However, Venezuela may experience an even worse disaster if the regime collapses at a time when the opposition is unprepared to step into power and the U.S. is not willing to bear direct responsibility.

Caracas Chronicles