The United States has sent F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico amid reports that President Donald Trump is considering military action against drug cartels operating in Venezuela.

A total of ten advanced F-35 jets are being deployed as part of Washington’s expanded mission to target Latin American organizations it labels as “narco-terrorists.”

US media report that the Trump administration is weighing direct attacks on these trafficking groups inside Venezuela, which could further heighten tensions with President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Maduro called on the US to “drop its plan for violent regime change” and respect Venezuela’s sovereignty. He warned that any attack would spark an “armed struggle” and said the country’s 340,000 soldiers, along with millions of reservists and militia members, would be mobilized.

Trump, on the other hand, denied any intention of changing Venezuela’s government, though he questioned the fairness of the country’s last presidential election.

The F-35 deployment adds to a major US naval presence in the southern Caribbean, including at least seven warships, thousands of Marines, and a nuclear-powered submarine near Venezuelan waters.

The Pentagon criticized Caracas for a “highly provocative” move after two Venezuelan F-16 jets reportedly flew close to the US guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham.

Trump warned that US forces are authorized to shoot down any Venezuelan planes considered a threat.

Earlier in the week, US forces attacked a speedboat in the Caribbean believed to belong to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua.

Trump reported that 11 people were killed, while Venezuelan authorities condemned the strike as an “extrajudicial killing.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the aggressive approach, stating that drug cartels are a direct threat. “The only way to stop them is to destroy them,” he said during a trip to Mexico.