By WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (AfrikTimes) – The United States is not seeking regime change in Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Friday, even as Washington expanded its military buildup in the Caribbean by ordering an additional 10 stealth fighter jets.
“We’re not talking about that, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election which was a very strange election, to put it mildly,” Trump told reporters, referring to Venezuela’s contested 2024 vote, which President Nicolas Maduro claims to have won. His comments came after Maduro accused Washington of plotting “regime change through military threat.”
Buildings stand near the Bolivariana de Puertos La Guaira port as the Venezuelan government activates militia units amid tensions with U.S. over warships deployed in La Guaira, Venezuela, September 5, 2025.
“The government of the United States should abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence,” Maduro said in a televised address. He added: “I respect Trump. None of the differences we’ve had can lead to a military conflict. Venezuela has always been willing to converse, to dialogue.”
Trump earlier this week unveiled his new approach to combating narcotics trafficking with a U.S. military strike that killed 11 people and sank a Venezuelan boat he said was carrying illegal drugs. He is considering additional strikes, including the possibility of hitting suspected cartel targets inside Venezuela, CNN reported, citing sources briefed on the administration’s plans. Such an operation would mark a sharp escalation of U.S. actions in the region.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Buildings stand near the La Guaira shoreline as the Venezuelan government activates militia units amid tensions with the United States over what Caracas calls the unprovoked deployment of U.S. warships, in La Guaira, Venezuela, September 5, 2025.
‘THEY’LL BE SHOT DOWN’
The Trump administration has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to expand operations against drug cartels, sources told AfrikTimes on Friday, adding to an already heavy U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean.
The disclosure came just hours after the Pentagon accused Venezuela of staging a “highly provocative” flight by its fighter jets near a U.S. Navy warship on Thursday. Trump warned Caracas that American forces had authorization to respond with force if threatened.
“If they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shot down,” Trump said.
Members of the National Bolivarian Militia gather after responding to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s call to defend national sovereignty amid escalating tensions with the U.S., in Valencia, Venezuela, September 5, 2025.
At every opportunity, the administration has sought to link President Nicolas Maduro’s government to narcotics trafficking, allegations Venezuela denies. Trump has accused Maduro of controlling the Tren de Aragua gang, which Washington designated a terrorist organization in February. Caracas insists the group was dismantled during a prison raid in 2023 and dismisses any connection to the Venezuelan leader.
Seeking to justify the stepped-up military activity, Trump compared U.S. overdose deaths to wartime casualties. “Think if you’re in a war and you lose 300,000 … We’re not going to allow it to happen,” he said.
Venezuela’s Communications Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the F-35 deployment or the alleged fighter jet incident.
Members of the National Bolivarian Militia gather after responding to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s call to defend national sovereignty amid escalating tensions with the U.S., in Valencia, Venezuela September 5, 2025.
DEMOCRAT CONDEMNS ‘LAWLESS’ ACTS
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity about the latest U.S. deployment, said the 10 fighter jets are being sent to conduct operations against designated narco-terrorist organizations operating in the southern Caribbean. The planes should arrive in the area by late next week, they said.
F-35s are highly advanced stealth fighters and would be effective in combat against Venezuela’s air force, which includes F-16 aircraft. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two Venezuelan F-16s flew over the guided missile destroyer Jason Dunham on Thursday. The Dunham is one of at least seven U.S. warships deployed to the Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines.
U.S. Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have also been carrying out amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico. The buildup has put pressure on Maduro, whom U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called “effectively a kingpin of a drug narco state.”
Members of the National Bolivarian Militia gather after responding to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s call to defend national sovereignty amid escalating tensions with the U.S., in Valencia, Venezuela September 5, 2025.
The escalation drew criticism in Washington. Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, denounced Trump’s actions as “lawless.”
“Congress has not declared war on Venezuela, or Tren de Aragua, and the mere designation of a group as a terrorist organization does not give any President carte blanche to ignore Congress’s clear Constitutional authority on matters of war and peace,” Omar said.
U.S. officials have not clarified the legal grounds for Tuesday’s airstrike on a Venezuelan boat, nor specified what narcotics, if any, were seized. Trump claimed without evidence that the crew were members of Tren de Aragua, a gang his administration labeled a terrorist organization in February.
An F-35 jet prepares to launch off the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises about 100 miles south of Oahu, Hawaii, U.S. July 19, 2024.
