U.S. Deploys F-35 Fighters to Cold War-Era Puerto Rico Base as Venezuela Tensions Escalate

The U.S. military has reactivated a Cold War-era naval base in Puerto Rico and deployed thousands of troops to the Caribbean as tensions with Venezuela escalate, marking the largest American military buildup in the region in decades.

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico — closed since 2004 — became operational again in September when F-35B stealth fighters, Marine Corps helicopters and heavy transport aircraft began using the facility's 11,000-foot runway. The base sits approximately 500 miles from Venezuela's coast.