In a dramatic escalation of tensions with Venezuela, former President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of the U.S. Army’s elite “Night Stalker” regiment to the Caribbean, accompanied by increased artillery presence. This move underscores the heightened military pressure directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Over the past two months, U.S. military forces have been active in the region, targeting Venezuelan vessels engaged in illegal narcotics trafficking. These operations have resulted in the destruction of five boats, with approximately 27 casualties. A recent strike on Thursday left three crew members alive, highlighting the ongoing conflict in the Caribbean Sea.

The military buildup in the region is significant, featuring a formidable array of B-52 bombers, guided missile destroyers, F-35B fighter jets, P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, a nuclear submarine, and approximately 6,500 troops. This formidable assembly signals the United States’ robust stance on countering illegal activities and exerting pressure on Maduro’s regime.

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the deployment includes the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, famously known as the “Night Stalkers.” This shadowy unit is renowned for conducting missions alongside elite forces such as the Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Delta Force.

The presence of the Night Stalkers in the Caribbean marks a strategic positioning, with these elite aviation forces operating within 90 miles of Venezuela’s coast. This proximity underscores the seriousness of the U.S. military’s objectives in the region, as it continues to tackle the challenges posed by Maduro’s government and the illegal drug trade.

The Night Stalkers are part of a troop deployment that is seeing elite Special Operations aviation forces fly less than 90 miles from the coast of Venezuela. 

The Venezuelans, led by socialist tyrant Nicolas Maduro, is readying his own forces and warning the population that Trump is preparing to invade. 

Maduro, who the US does not recognize as legitimate, claimed he has a militia prepared to defy the US that is in the millions, though the military experts say their army has around 125,000 soldiers. 

Donald Trump is moving the Army’s ‘Night Stalker’ regiment alongside intensified artillery in the Caribbean as Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro mobilizes his own troops

Included in the US military buildup are the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the ‘Night Stalkers.’ The secretive unit runs missions for Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Delta Force and other elite commandos

Venezuelan state media has shown troops training intensely with Russian-made fighter jets flying through the sky.

They’re also putting out propaganda calling the US a Nazi state that wants to claim Venezuela’s oil.  

‘Raise your hands if you want to be a slave to the gringos,’ Maduro said earlier this week. 

‘If you want peace, get ready to earn peace. The people are ready for combat, ready for battle.’

It comes as Trump witheringly told the press that Maduro offered the US ‘everything’ because he doesn’t want to ‘f*** with the United States.’ 

The US military on Friday announced it is holding two survivors aboard a Navy ship after pulling them out of a suspected drug boat that was targeted by a strike. The bombing reportedly killed two other individuals. 

The recent disclosure from the military indicates they are prisoners of war following Trump’s vow to eliminate ‘narcoterrorist’ threats in the Caribbean.   

The vessel was moving underwater and was possibly hit by a submarine, according to Reuters. 

The strikes come against the backdrop of a US military buildup in the Caribbean that includes B-52s, guided missile destroyers, F-35B fighter jets, P-8 Poseidon spy planes, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops. Pictured: An airborne mission of the ‘Night Stalkers’ unit

Nicolas Maduro, who the US does not recognize as legitimate, claimed he has a militia prepared to defy the US that is in the millions, though the military experts say their army has around 125,000 soldiers

Trump provided more details during his Friday cabinet meeting with Zelensky by stating ‘it was a submarine.’

‘That was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs. Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people.’

Trump announced Wednesday he has given the Central Intelligence Agency permission to conduct missions inside Venezuela.

The President also unveiled on Truth Social earlier this week that Secretary of War ordered the ‘lethal kinetic’ on a narco-terrorist vessel. 

Trump said that Pete Hegseth conducted the deadly operation with his permission.

The operation is believed to have killed six male narco-terrorists aboard the drug vessel while they were traveling in international waters. 

Since being back in the White house, Trump has accused Maduro of being a drug lord and dictator.

Maduro, meanwhile, on Wednesday denounced Trump’s use of the CIA to institute a possible a regime change as ‘desperate.’

Trump witheringly told the press that Maduro offered the US ‘everything’ because he doesn’t want to ‘f*** with the United States’ 

‘How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups? Latin America doesn’t want them, doesn’t need them and repudiates them,’ Maduro said in a televised address.

On Wednesday, Trump disclosed he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, adding to speculation in Caracas that the United States is attempting to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In a letter to the United Nations’ 15-member Security Council, seen by Reuters, Venezuela’s UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada asked for a UN determination that the US strikes off its coast are illegal and issue a statement backing Venezuela’s sovereignty.

The Trump administration has asserted it´s treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force.

Less than a week ago, the Pentagon announced its counter-narcotics operations in the region would not be led by the Miami-based Southern Command, which oversees US military activities in Latin America.

Instead, the Pentagon said a taskforce was being created that would be led by II Marine Expeditionary Force, a unit capable of rapid overseas operations that is based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

That decision came as a surprise to US military-watchers, since a combatant command like Southern Command would normally lead any high-profile operations.

Earlier on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Admiral Alvin Holsey – who leads US Southern Command – will step down at the end of this year, two years ahead of schedule, in a surprise move.

The US military carried out a new strike on Thursday against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, and in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew. Pictured: the wreckage from one of the five previous attacks the Pentagon has made against what they call narcoterrorists

Earlier on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Admiral Alvin Holsey (pictured) – who leads US Southern Command – will step down at the end of this year, two years ahead of schedule, in a surprise move 

The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, called Admiral Alvin Holsey’s unexpected resignation troubling given mounting fears of a potential US confrontation with Venezuela.

‘Admiral Holsey’s resignation only deepens my concern that this administration is ignoring the hard-earned lessons of previous U.S. military campaigns and the advice of our most experienced warfighters,’ Reed said in a statement.

Holsey became the leader of U.S. Southern Command only in November, overseeing an area that encompasses the Caribbean Sea and waters off South America. 

These types of postings typically last between three and four years.

Frustration with the attacks has been growing on Capitol Hill. 

Some Republicans have been seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes, while Democrats contend the strikes violate US and international law.