The United States has ordered the deployment of ten F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to conduct operations against drug cartels, sources say, adding more firepower to intensifying US military operations in the Caribbean that are stoking tension with Venezuela.

The new deployment comes on top of an already bristling US military presence in the southern Caribbean as President Donald Trump carries out a campaign pledge to crack down on groups he blames for funneling drugs into the United States.

The disclosure about the F-35s came just hours after the Pentagon accused Venezuela of a “highly provocative” flight on Thursday by fighter jets over a US Navy warship.

It also follows a US military strike on Tuesday that killed 11 people and sank a boat from Venezuela Trump said was transporting illegal drugs.

At every turn, the Trump administration has sought to tie Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government to narco-trafficking, allegations Caracas denies.

More specifically, Trump has accused Maduro of running the Tren de Aragua gang, which his administration designated a terrorist organization in February.

Venezuela’s Communications Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the F-35s or the allegations that Venezuelan fighter jets flew over a US warship.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity about the latest US deployment, said the ten fighter jets are being sent to conduct operations against designated narco-terrorist organisations 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 highly effective in combat against Venezuela’s air force, which includes F-16 aircraft.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two Venezuelan F-16s flew over the USS Jason Dunham on Thursday.

The Dunham is one of at least seven US warships deployed to the Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and marines.

US 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 US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has called “effectively a kingpin of a drug narco state.”

Maduro, at a rare news conference in Caracas on Monday, said the United States is “seeking a regime change through military threat.”

Speaking on Thursday, Hegseth defended Tuesday’s deadly strike in comments to reporters and vowed that such activities would continue, citing the threat that illegal narcotics pose to public health in the United States.

“The poisoning of the American people is over,” Hegseth said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, condemned what she called Trump’s “lawless” actions in the southern Caribbean.

“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 in a statement.

US officials have not clearly explained what legal justification was used for Tuesday’s air strike on the boat or what drugs were on board.

Trump said on Tuesday, without providing evidence, that the US military had identified the crew of the vessel as members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.