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Over the past week, C-17 heavy-lift cargo planes, which usually transport troops and equipment, flew to Puerto Rico at least 16 times, according to flight tracking data reviewed by The New York Times.
Dec. 23, 2025, 5:43 p.m. ET
The United States military has dispatched a number of transport and cargo planes to the Caribbean this week, as President Trump continues to ramp up military pressure on President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, whom Mr. Trump has threatened with military action.
Over the past week, C-17 heavy-lift cargo planes — which are largely used for transporting military troops and equipment — conducted at least 16 flights to Puerto Rico from American military bases, according to flight tracking data reviewed by The New York Times.
The C-17s flew to Puerto Rico from bases in New Mexico, Illinois, Vermont, Florida, Arizona, Utah, Washington State and Japan. It was unclear how many troops or other equipment were transported aboard those flights. Defense officials declined to comment.
The United States Central Command has said that some 15,000 troops are already deployed in the Caribbean, one of the country’s largest naval deployments in recent years. On Monday, Mr. Trump called it a “massive armada” and said that he was planning action on land in Venezuela “soon.”
Christiaan Triebert is a Times reporter working on the Visual Investigations team, a group that combines traditional reporting with digital sleuthing and analysis of visual evidence to verify and source facts from around the world.
Helene Cooper is a Pentagon correspondent for The Times. She was previously an editor, diplomatic correspondent and White House correspondent.
