The USS Stockdale arrived in the Caribbean after traveling through the Panama Canal on Monday to support U.S. anti-narcotics operations, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Military Times.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer replaced the USS Sampson and assumes its mission of helping monitor, detect and halt the illicit flow of narcotics in the area, the official said.
There are currently eight Navy vessels assigned to the area, the official confirmed.
In addition to the Stockdale, the USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely, USS Iwo Jima, USS Fort Lauderdale, USS San Antonio, USS Lake Erie and USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul are stationed in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, according to reports.
The U.S. deployed the Gravely, Jason Dunham and Sampson to the Caribbean in August, as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to combat narcotics operations and thwart Latin American drug cartels.
The Stockdale’s arrival in the Caribbean comes as the U.S. has conducted at least three military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean this month.
The U.S. carried out a strike against an alleged Venezuelan drug boat Friday, killing three individuals that President Donald Trump claimed were a part of a designated terrorist organization trafficking drugs.
The U.S. carried out a strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel that departed Venezuela on Sept. 2., killing 11 individuals that Trump identified as part of the Tren de Aragua gang in a Truth Social post.
Several days later, two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets conducted a show of force by flying near the Jason Dunham, stationed in the area.
On Sept. 13, Venezuela’s foreign minister accused personnel from a U.S. warship of illegally boarding a Venezuelan tuna boat with nine fishermen while it was sailing in Venezuelan waters.
The U.S. conducted another strike two days later on another alleged Venezuelan drug vessel, killing three.
“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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