Troops Already on St. Croix See Wider Regional Buildup as Hegseth Declares Caribbean Deployment Is “Not Training”

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Marines aboard the USS Iwo Jima in Puerto Rico this week that their deployment to the Caribbean was “not training,” underscoring the seriousness of Washington’s latest military escalation in the region.

“What you’re doing right now is not training; this is a real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interests of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people,” Hegseth said on Monday, pointing to the administration’s campaign to stop narcotics from reaching U.S. shores. He was joined on the warship by Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hegseth’s remarks came as roughly 4,500 U.S. troops were deployed throughout the Caribbean in what officials describe as an aggressive posture toward Venezuela. Surface ships, surveillance aircraft, and a U.S. submarine near Trinidad and Tobago are part of the operation, which follows the Trump administration’s designation of Venezuelan-linked cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The Virgin Islands is directly involved in the buildup. Soldiers have begun arriving on St. Croix, where they are being housed at the PHRT Village—commonly known locally as the “Man Camp”—located at the south shore refinery and terminal facility.

Governor Albert Bryan Jr. voiced his support for the deployment, noting both security and economic benefits. “If we could stop this flow of drugs to our shores, why wouldn’t we be for that?” he said. Bryan explained that traffickers are increasingly using Caribbean routes as enforcement tightens along the U.S. southern border. “Along with the cocaine comes a lot of bad actors, murder and a lot of things we don’t want. So I am for it.”