Caribbean

Jan. 7 (UPI) — The United States on Wednesday said that it seized two oil tankers — a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic and another in the Caribbean Sea.

U.S. Southern Command said, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it “apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident.”

SOUTHCOM accused the vessel, the M/T Sophia, of carrying out “illicit activities” in international waters in the Caribbean Sea. In a post on X, the agency said the U.S. Coast Guard was escorting the vessel to the United States for “final disposal.”

U.S. European Command, meanwhile, announced it seized the Russian-flagged Mariners — formerly known as the M/V Bella 1 — a vessel it had been chasing across the Atlantic Ocean since December.

EUCOM, in a post on X, said it seized the tanker for violating U.S. sanctions and transporting Iranian oil.

“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” the agency said.

U.S. officials said Russia sent two naval ships and a submarine to escort the Marinera, which was between Iceland and Britain, heading northeast.

The United States deployed at least 10 special-ops military aircraft and transporter aircraft thought to be carrying helicopters to RAF bases in Britain in recent days, possibly in preparation for an interdiction.

The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to execute a warrant to seize the tanker in the Caribbean in December, when it was believed to be headed to Venezuela in contravention of a partial U.S. blockade.

The ship’s final destination was thought to be the Baltic Sea, or possibly the Russian port of Murmansk on the Barents Sea.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the situation with “concern” and complained about what it said was unwarranted attention from the United States and its NATO allies.

The vessel refused to permit the Coast Guard to board on its first attempt Dec. 21 when it was en route from Iran to collect oil from Venezuela, changed course and headed back out into the Atlantic.

On the way, it painted a Russian flag on the hull, changed its name from Bella 1 to “Marinera” and listed on a Russian shipping registry, in a bid to shake off its U.S. pursuers.

The New York Times reported that Hyperion and at least three other vessels plying the Venezuela route, employed similar stealth tactics, swapping their original flags for Russian ones — exacerbating already tense relations strained over the U.S. attack on Venezuela which is backed by Moscow.

All the ships are suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” moving Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil subject to sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and other countries around the world.

The Russian Maritime Shipping Registry records show the ships, which are all sanctioned by the United States for transporting Iranian or Russian oil, changed their home ports to Sochi or Taganrog in southern Russia and switched flags.

HEIDI Klum is up to her gold tricks as she takes a dip in the sea in a shiny bikini.

The 52-year-old model was pictured enjoying the sun, sea and sand in the Caribbean island of St Barts.

She was also seen holding hands with her musician husband Tom Kaulitz, 36.

Kaulitz is a German musician who has been dating Heidi since March 2018.

The pair were first spotted together on 14 March leaving Delilah in West Hollywood.

Last month, The Sun told how Heidi and fellow model Stella Maxwell took a pet dog for walkies on the catwalk.

SILVER SIRENS

Heidi Klum, 52, and Stella Maxwell, 35, stun in silver as they film on beach

HELLO HEIDI!

Heidi Klum goes topless in just thong bikini bottoms on St Barts beach

The pair were both glammed up in silver while strutting with Stella’s pet Trip, a chihuahua terrier mix.

They were on set filming for Germany’s Next Topmodel series in LA.

Heidi wore a plunging gown with a see-through skirt, while Stella, 35, was in a slashed minidress.

Stella calls Trip her “most treasured possession”.

A week previously, Heidi changed tack and joined forces with Robbie Williams at the World Cup 2026 draw in Washington DC.

She donned two different dresses, switching up from a red sparkling number to a black blouse and diamante skirt.

She hosted the World Cup draw alongside comedian Kevin Hart and actor Danny Ramirez at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

And the supermodel, who previously took part in the 2006 tournament draw in her native Germany, was among the first names on the red carpet.

As Heidi switched into a third dress for the actual draw ceremony – this being a glittering gold number – things seemingly went downhill.

Over the past week or so, U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones have been spotted carrying increasingly greater numbers of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles on sorties from Puerto Rico. This includes at least one Reaper seen armed with 10 Hellfires, a loadout that does not previously appear to have been disclosed as being an option for these drones. This all now comes amid reports that it was the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that recently carried out a first-of-its-kind covert strike on a target in Venezuela using an unspecified drone.

The unusually large Hellfire loads are the latest in a series of changes in U.S. force posture in the region that go well beyond simply bolstering support to the U.S. military’s ostensibly expanded counter-drug operations. Readers can first get up to speed on this and other recent developments in the Caribbean in our recent reporting here.

CNN was first to report yesterday that a CIA-directed drone strike targeted what has been described as a “port facility” and a “dock” somewhere along Venezuela’s coast sometime earlier this month, citing anonymous sources. The site is said to have been used by the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, which the U.S. government designated as a terrorist organization earlier this year, to smuggle drugs. The New York Times has also now reported that the CIA led this operation, per its own unnamed sources. TWZ has previously highlighted ports and other logistical nodes as among the likely first rungs in a kinetic escalation ladder for operations inside Venezuela.

President Donald Trump had first mentioned the strike publicly in a phone call with WABC radio in New York last Friday. He brought it up again while speaking to the press yesterday alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The President did not say in either case who had carried out the mission. Back in October, Trump said he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela.

When it comes to U.S. MQ-9s in the region, Reapers have been operating from Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla in Puerto Rico since September. They have generally been seen carrying between two and four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles at a time, as well as range-extending fuel tanks and pods, the latter of which we will come back to later on. This is a very typical combat loadout that has been seen on Reapers operating globally in the past.

However, between December 21 and December 24, MQ-9s started being seen flying from Aguadilla armed with six, eight, and then a whopping 10 AGM-114s. Local spotter Michael Bonet has shared some images of Reapers operating from the airport with larger Hellfire loadouts, seen earlier in this story and below, directly with TWZ.

At least as of 2021, the Air Force had said its Reapers could carry no more than eight Hellfires at once. The MQ-9 can also carry a variety of other munitions, including 500-pound-class Paveway and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) series precision-guided bombs. Only Hellfires have been seen so far on Reapers in Puerto Rico.

The growing loadouts seen on Puerto Rico-based Reapers have also necessitated the use of four-rail launchers. TWZ has so far been unable to find any past imagery of U.S. MQ-9s flying with these quad-launchers. They are commonly seen on U.S. Army AH-64 Apache and U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, as well as the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R and MH-60S Seahawks. It is worth noting that General Atomics, the MQ-9’s manufacturer, has touted the ability of its Mojave drone to carry loads of up to 16 Hellfires using the four-rail launchers.

Many of the MQ-9s with the larger AGM-114 loads have also been seen carrying a still-unidentified pod. The pod first emerged following the loss of two U.S. Reapers in what was said to have been a mid-air collision over Syria in 2020.

The mysterious pod has since been observed on MQ-9s operating in Romania, Japan, and South Korea. It is typically seen on Reapers that are also fitted with a very large ventral blade antenna under the rear of the fuselage. The pod’s exact purpose remains unconfirmed, but it is assumed to contain additional sensors and/or communications relay and data-sharing capabilities, as you can read more about here.

Why Reapers have begun flying more heavily armed missions from Aguadilla recently is unknown, but the loadouts are at odds with the scope and scale of the existing campaign of strikes on small boats in the region. Between September 2 and December 29, the U.S. military is known to have attacked 31 vessels in the Caribbean Sea, as well as the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This averages out to one strike every four days, a general tempo that does not point to an immediate need for more ordnance per sortie. At least a portion of these missions have been carried out by AC-130J gunships, as well. Questions about the legality of these operations and the underlying intelligence behind them also continue to be very hot topics of debate.

On Dec. 29, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/69ywxXk30N

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 29, 2025

For weeks now, TWZ has already been highlighting an influx of additional U.S. forces into the Caribbean that do not simply align with a bolstering of capacity to support counter-drug operations, or even more recent efforts to seize oil tankers as part of the maximum pressure campaign against the dictatorial regime in Venezuela. This includes the recent arrival of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) CV-22 Osprey tiltrotors and MC-130J Commando II special operations tanker-transports at Aguadilla to join the MQ-9s. A host of other American air, naval, and ground assets have been flowing into the region for months now, as you can read more about here.

There is also now Trump’s disclosure of at least one covert action against a target inside Venezuela proper. To be clear, much about that operation, including exactly what the target was and what type of drone may have been used to strike it, remains murky.

The CIA is understood to operate a fleet of MQ-9s capable of flying armed missions. Earlier this year, reports said that the Agency’s Reapers had also been flying unarmed sorties over Mexico to snoop on drug cartels. At the same time, Reapers are not the only drones that the CIA has access to. Depending on the exact location and nature of the target, the attack could have been more localized and involved shorter-range armed uncrewed aerial systems, including ones under the control of individuals operating covertly inside the country, but this seems less likely to have been the case.

The aforementioned descriptions of the target in Venezuela as being a “port facility” and a “dock” would seem to point to something of substantial size. This, in turn, could well have necessitated the employment of a relatively large amount of ordnance, such as what we’ve recently been seeing on Puerto Rico-based MQ-9s, to ensure adequate destruction.

It is also worth noting here that there have long been strong indications of some form of overlap in both ownership and operational control of drones, including MQ-9s, between the CIA and the U.S. military’s secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), as well as the U.S. Air Force. JSOC has been directly involved in at least some of the strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean since September. In response to CNN‘s report, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), to which JSOC is technically assigned, did notably send that outlet an on-the-record statement denying any involvement in the recent strike in Venezuela.

More clandestine assets could still have been used instead, but there also would have been no real need to do so if something like a Reaper could have accomplished the job with a reasonable level of survivability. The strike on the target in Venezuela, which did not prompt any kind of immediate response on the part of Venezuelan authorities, at least that we know of, raises additional questions about the effectiveness of the country’s air defenses. Whether or not any standoff electronic warfare support, of which there is plenty in the region currently in the form of Navy EA-18 Growler jets and at least one Air Force EC-130H Compass Call plane, was utilized during the operation is unknown, but this seems likely to have been the case. As TWZ has explored in detail in the past, Venezuela’s air defense capabilities are limited, but could certainly present real threats.

A video posted to social media yesterday (20 Dec) shows the arrival of a USAF EC-130H at Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU/TJSJ) in Puerto Rico.

There are only a few EC-130Hs left in USAF inventory.

Credit/permission: pinchito.avgeek (IG). pic.twitter.com/IxqBaKSBtE

— LatAmMilMovements (@LatAmMilMVMTs) December 22, 2025

As already noted, it is not otherwise clear what new mission requirements and/or intelligence streams may have fueled the decision to begin arming MQ-9s flying from Puerto Rico with the significantly larger loads of Hellfires. The need to respond to drug cartels sending out larger waves of boats in order to survive, or to provide armed overwatch due to concerns about surface threats from small boats, are possibilities, but there are no indications so far of either of these being the case.

As a general point, taking direct action against a target in Venezuela does mark another significant escalation, regardless of how it was carried out. The full extent of plans now for this covert campaign, and whether it might be intended as a prelude to overt action, remain to be seen.

At the same time, the expanding Hellfire loads on Air Force MQ-9s flying from Puerto Rico add to the growing evidence that U.S. operations in the region, and with respect to Venezuela, specifically, are entering a major new phase.

Special thanks again to Michael Bonet for sharing his pictures of MQ-9 Reapers operating recently from Rafael Hernandez Airport with us.

Howard Altman contributed to this story.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

THIS Caribbean island has it all, plenty of sunshine and beautiful beaches with soft sand – not to mention January is the perfect month to visit.

With highs of almost 30C and nine hours of sunshine each day, Barbados is a great place to start the New Year.

The island sits in the eastern Caribbean Sea close to St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and has around 285,000 residents.

For tourists, there’s a great mix of beaches and busy towns like Bridgetown, the island’s capital – it has pretty architecture, shops, vibrant markets and National Heroes Square.

Generally visitors will head to the West Coast for luxury stays and calm waters or the South Coast for vibrant nightlife.

Wherever you go, you don’t have to look far for beautiful beaches as they’re all across Barbados, from Sandy Bay Beach to Dover Beach.

STREET SMARTS

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SNOW WAY

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Another is Carlisle Bay on the southwest coast which is popular for spotting turtles and diving among shipwrecks.

Barbados even has a beach with pink sand, called Crane Beach, which is found on the southeast coast.

It’s well-known for having soft, pink sand which is made finely from crushed coral and shells that create a pinkish hue.

One visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: “It has beautiful pink and white sand and very, very few tourists. Magnificent crashing waves and warm shallow water – perfection!”

Another described it as having “incomparable views with pink sugar sand”.

A different part of the island however, was revealed to be one of the ‘Best Places to Go in 2026’.

The East Coast of Barbados was mentioned by Condé Nast Traveller thanks to its “dramatic scenery, world-class surfing, and colourful fishing villages preserve the island’s unspoiled character.”

For those visiting, it suggested starting in Bathsheba, a village with a popular surfing beach often referred to as ‘The Soup Bowl’.

Another spot on the East Coast is Martin’s Bay, and on Thursdays head to Bay Tavern Fish Fry for some red snapper or macaroni pie (essentially baked mac and cheese).

Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey visited the Caribbean island last January. She said: “Rum alcohol is in the fabric of this beautiful island.

“And Barbados certainly isn’t short of rum bars — there are about 1,500 of them, with one next to every church on the island. (That’s a lot of booze stops for the world’s 13th smallest country).

“It’s home to the oldest rum distillery in the world, Mount Gay. So it would be rude to deny myself a rum punch after a trip to Harrison’s Cave, one of the island’s most popular attractions.

Kara continued: “After a quick tram tour underground, above ground is where you can find Mount Gay taster sessions. That rambunctiousness was why we ended up in a KFC after being told that it’s much better in the Caribbean.“

Unlike January in the UK, you’re guaranteed to have sun in Barbados and temperatures for the first month of the year sit between 23C and 28C.

In January, there are direct flights from London Gatwick and London Heathrow which take 9 hours.

The cheapest flight according to Skyscanner is on January 8, 2026 from £311 with TUI.

For more on the Caribbean, check out this lesser-visited island where one writer discovered zip lines, lobster bars and volcano hiking.

And this Caribbean island that’s the closest to the UK with Maldives-like overwater villas.

As the United States reasserts its hemispheric priorities in its recent National Security Strategy document, Latin America and the Caribbean are once again cast as a zone of interest, with Venezuela squarely in Washington’s sights. Puerto Rico—still a US colony more than a century after the 1898 invasion—plays a central role in this imperial architecture, serving as both a military platform and a living example of colonial rule in the region. 

Cira Pascual Marquina spoke with Puerto Rican geographer, author, and longtime activist Déborah Berman Santana about the continuity of US imperialism, the island’s strategic function in projecting imperialist military power in the region, and why Venezuela’s insistence on sovereignty represents such a profound threat to US interests. 

Drawing on decades of grassroots struggle against militarization, including the successful campaign to halt US Navy bombings in Vieques, Berman Santana situates today’s escalation against Venezuela within a broader history of colonial control, neocolonial coercion, and popular resistance in the continent.

The US has just issued a new National Security Strategy document that shifts its focus to the Western Hemisphere. From your perspective in Puerto Rico, what does this reveal about Washington’s imperial ambitions, and how does it impact the Caribbean and specifically Venezuela?

From Puerto Rico, and with the history of US-Latin American relations in mind, what is being presented as a “new” security strategy is really the old one. Even before the Monroe Doctrine, Thomas Jefferson was already worried that Spain’s colonies might become independent before the United States was strong enough to take control of them. Hemispheric domination has always been central to US policy.

What this document makes clear is that Washington wants absolute control over the Western Hemisphere, regardless of what happens elsewhere in the world or how competition with China or Russia evolves. When US officials say “America for the Americans,” they mean the entire hemisphere for the United States: its peoples and its resources, all under US imperialist control.

The Caribbean is still referred to as the US “backyard,” even by sectors of the US left. Venezuela’s oil—the largest proven reserves on the planet—is treated as US oil. Bolivia’s lithium is viewed as US lithium. The strategy simply reasserts the United States as the dominant power, the plantation owner of the hemisphere.

There is nothing new in this policy paper except how openly it is stated. I don’t believe the substance would be radically different under a Democratic administration; it would simply be expressed in more polite language.

Puerto Rico is identified as a US “territory,” but in reality, it’s an occupied colony. How does that colonial status enable the buildup of US bases and military deployments, and why is Puerto Rico so central to projecting imperialist power in the Caribbean, especially toward Venezuela?

In the US Constitution, “territory” essentially means property. The US Supreme Court has defined Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory belonging to, but not part of, the United States. “Unincorporated” means there is no obligation to ever make Puerto Rico a state.

The simplest analogy is a pair of shoes: they belong to you, but they are not part of you, and you can dispose of them at will. That is how Puerto Rico is legally understood. We don’t even have the limited sovereignty administratively allowed for Native peoples in the US. This is not my opinion; it is established by Supreme Court rulings.

This colonial condition makes militarization extremely easy. For roughly twenty years there was a visible reduction in US military presence, but that period is clearly over. The US does not need to negotiate with us. If it chooses to offer compensation, it may, but it is under no obligation.

There are six US military bases in Puerto Rico. Four were never meaningfully demilitarized. Two—Ramey in Aguadilla and Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba—were supposedly closed and slated for civilian redevelopment. In practice, that process has been partial at best.

I live near Ceiba, and since the summer, there has been a dramatic increase in military air traffic. The airstrip, which had been used for regional civilian flights since 2004, is now filled with F-35s, Hercules aircraft, and Ospreys. No permission was requested. The military simply took it over.

If the US decides to deploy additional warships or aircraft carrier groups—as it recently did with the USS Gerald R. Ford—it can do so without even consulting us. Whether this is intended as a prelude to an actual attack on Venezuela or primarily as pressure, it clearly sends a message.

It is the logic of a bully: “I am here, and I am ready to hurt you unless you comply.” Even without an invasion, the buildup is meant to force concessions, deepen internal divisions, or provoke instability in Venezuela. I doubt this will succeed, given Venezuela’s strong commitment to sovereignty, but it clearly reflects the US’ strategic thinking.

Venezuela faces escalating economic, political, and military pressure. Why is the Bolivarian Revolution perceived as such a threat to US imperialist interests?

The United States seeks to remain the dominant global power, but when that dominance is challenged—especially by China—it insists on absolute control of this hemisphere. In this worldview, Latin America and the Caribbean are US turf: their resources belong to Washington, and their peoples are treated, implicitly, as subjects.

What the US will not accept is a country that insists on real sovereignty, a country that engages with Washington as an equal. Venezuela’s decision to control its own resources and choose its own trading partners is intolerable to US policymakers.

That is why Cuba has faced a blockade for more than sixty years, why Nicaragua is targeted, and why Venezuela is now under such intense pressure. A Russian ship making a courtesy visit to Venezuela or expanded ties with China are treated not as sovereign decisions, but as provocations.

The real threat to Washington is not Venezuela in isolation, but the precedent it sets. The Bolivarian process represents a living challenge and a model that could inspire others across the region. That is why US policy aims either to overthrow the government or to force it to abandon its sovereign course.

And it would not stop with Venezuela: Cuba would be next, and Nicaragua would follow. Donald Trump has openly warned Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro that they could also “be next.” This military buildup sends a message to all of Latin America and the Caribbean—Mexico included—about the limits Washington seeks to impose on sovereignty.

As one billionaire ally of Trump [Elon Musk] once crudely said about Bolivia’s lithium: “We coup whoever we want.” It may sound blunt, but it reflects a long-standing reality. When US interests are challenged, it resorts to coups—soft or hard. It prefers banks over tanks, but ultimately it will do whatever is necessary to maintain imperialist control.

While Puerto Rico is under direct colonial rule, much of Latin America faces neocolonial domination. How do these models operate together today?

Puerto Rico is a colony with no sovereignty, now effectively governed by a fiscal control board imposed by the US Congress. Appointed under Obama and maintained by subsequent administrations, this unelected body can veto budgets and policies. Its priority is not social well-being, but debt repayment—most of it owed to Wall Street hedge funds.

This structure enforces privatization: electricity, education, and public services. Environmental protections are also under attack. But colonialism works by degrees. A country can be formally independent and still be coerced through debt, IMF pressure, financial blackmail, economic war, etc.

Chile’s water privatization after the Pinochet coup is one example. Haiti is another—it is formally independent, yet occupied and burdened with illegitimate debt. Elsewhere, intervention comes through NGOs, the National Endowment for Democracy, election interference, or direct coups, as in Honduras in 2009.

In Venezuela, when the right wing loses elections, the US cries fraud. When it wins, there is silence. This selective logic serves as justification for sanctions, isolation, and ultimately military threats.

The US justifies its military buildup in the Caribbean using anti-drug rhetoric. What does this narrative conceal?

Historically, Washington claimed to be fighting communism. Later, it was terrorism. Now the target is supposedly drugs. Yet it is widely known that drug demand is driven by the United States itself, and that many of its closest allies have been deeply involved in drug trafficking. It’s allowed as long as they remain politically obedient.

Meanwhile, fisherfolk across the Caribbean are targeted and killed under the pretext of drug interdiction, without evidence and without inspections. This is not about drugs. It is about control.

Most people understand this, even within the United States. The real objective is hemispheric domination and control over strategic resources—above all, Venezuelan oil.

Puerto Rico has a long history of resistance to militarization. How do those struggles connect today with Venezuela and the broader region?

Puerto Rico has consistently resisted US militarism. The struggle against US Navy bombings in Vieques was long and difficult, but it ended in a victory: the base was shut down. Although the land has yet to be fully cleaned up or returned to the community, the pueblo won that battle.

The same anti-militarist, independentista, and socialist forces that fought in Vieques continue to resist today, grounded in the understanding that Puerto Rico is part of the Caribbean and Latin America. Simón Bolívar himself insisted that his liberation project would remain incomplete without Cuba and Puerto Rico.This struggle is far from over. It will not be complete until Puerto Rico is free and can stand alongside Venezuela, Cuba, and other pueblos of the region in a hemisphere that truly belongs to its people—free, just, and sovereign.

One of the U.S. Air Force’s last remaining EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare planes is now in Puerto Rico, video emerging on social media shows. The arrival marks the latest in an increasing buildup of military assets in the region to pressure Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and for what seems increasingly likely to be a contingency for a sustained kinetic operation over Venezuela.

You can catch up with our latest coverage on Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean here.

The Compass Call landed 10 p.m. on Saturday at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico, the videographer, an aircraft spotter who uses the Instagram handle Pinchito.Avgeek, told us. Other aircraft spotters told The War Zone that this is the first confirmed Compass Call to be seen in Puerto Rico as of late. The airport is also home to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard’s 156th Wing and has seen C-17 Globemaster III and other military aircraft operating there for Southern Spear.

While there are a number of C-130 Hercules variants in Puerto Rico, a screencap of that video shows that antennas under the tail and on top of the aircraft behind the cockpit conclusively show this is an EC-130H Compass Call.

Though the Air Force is phasing these aircraft out in favor of EA-37B Compass Call jets, the EC-130H brings capabilities that would be called upon for an attack on Venezuela should one be ordered. The heavily modified C-130 Hercules cargo planes carry a suite of electronic attack gear that can find and track “emitters” like radios and radars and then scramble their signals. This equipment can also jam cell phones.

The equipment aboard the Compass Call would help to blind Venezuelan air defenses, communications and command and control, making it harder to respond to attacks by combat aircraft and cruise missiles. The four-engine aircraft can fly for many hours without refueling and much longer with tanker support, giving U.S. Southern Command a long-loitering airborne EW platform.

As we noted in an earlier story: “Previous iterations of the EC-130H-based Compass Call system have proven their value in combat zones on multiple occasions in the past two decades. A contingent of these aircraft was continuously forward-deployed in the Middle East, from where they also supported operations in Afghanistan, between 2001 and 2021. EC-130Hs supported the raid that led to the death of Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 and prevented the detonation of an improvised explosive device that might have killed then-Maj. Gen. James Mattis, who later rose to the rank of General and also served as Secretary of Defense under Trump, in Iraq in 2003, among many other exploits, according to a recent story from Air Force Times.”

The current status and location of the Compass Call are not publicly known. The videographer told us he only saw it land. A U.S. official we spoke with could not comment on the arrival of the EC-130H but told us that there have been no new military orders for Southern Spear.

The EC-130H joins a squadron of E/A-18G Growler electronic attack jets, deployed on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as another squadron on land, as airborne electronic warfare assets now operating in the Caribbean. While Compass Calls offer some overlapping capabilities and some significantly different ones than the Growlers, the arrival of the EC-130J is another indication that electronic warfare is clearly taking a lopsided focus compared to the size of the rest of the fighting force deployed in the region.

While it is unclear if the Compass Call has performed any of its offensive operations yet, both the U.S. and Venezuela are using defensive jamming to protect assets. This has become an increasing problem for the region as tensions rise.

“At least some of the U.S. warships that have deployed to the Caribbean in recent months have been jamming GPS signals in their vicinity,” The New York Times reported, citing an analysis of data provided by Stanford University and a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

In an effort to protect important resources, “the armed forces of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela have jammed the GPS signals around the country’s critical infrastructure, including military bases, oil refineries and power plants,” the publication noted, citing an analysis by Spire Global, a satellite data firm.

Combined, the jamming is raising concerns for aviation.

“Whether jamming is due to the U.S. or Venezuelan forces, it really doesn’t matter: You don’t want an aircraft going in there,” Gen. Willie Shelton, the former head of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Command, told The Times.

As for the EC-130Hs, the aircraft is being retired from the Air Force inventory.

“Currently, the U.S. Air Force is operating and maintaining eight EC-130H aircraft,” Capt. Ridge Miller, a spokesperson for Air Combat Command (ACC) told The War Zone Monday afternoon. “A total of 10 EA-37B aircraft are on track to be delivered while simultaneously retiring the EC-130H fleet in a phased approach. Both platforms currently operate out of the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis Monthan AFB in Arizona.”

The EA-37B is based on a heavily modified version of the Gulfstream G550 airframe.

In addition to the Compass Call, other C-130 variants are operating out of Puerto Rico. One of which is the Marine Corps’ KC-130J Hercules tanker/transport aircraft. The KC-130Js uses the probe-and-drogue method for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, and is used to refuel fixed-wing fighter aircraft and helicopters.

Plane spotter @LatAmMilMovements told us that at least one of these aircraft, and sometimes two, have had a steady presence ever since Marine F-35B Lightnings arrived in Puerto Rico in September. This matches the imagery and satellite photos we have seen of the installation for months now. AV-8B Harriers, MV-22 Ospreys, and CH-53 Sea Stallions, all from the USS Iwo Jima and its flotilla, are also using the base regularly and they can all refuel from the KC-130J.

Air Force HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue (CSAR) planes are also flying out of Puerto Rico. Traditionally, they provide fuel to HH-60W Jolly Green Giant II CSAR helicopters, CV-22 Ospreys, and, to a lesser degree, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) helicopters.

These types are just part of a growing fleet of aerial refuelers in the region. The Air Force has also deployed KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus tankers to the Dominican Republic and U.S. Virgin Islands.

As more tanker aircraft arrive in Puerto Rico, they are also building up at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Aerial images show at least 28 KC-135s at the base. The image also shows at least two E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft are operating from MacDill, located about 1,400 miles northwest of Venezuela. As we pointed out last week, at least one Sentry was recently tracked on FlightRadar24 flying close to the Venezuelan coast. 

While E-3s may have been present but not trackable over the Caribbean in recent days, this one being trackable was not a mistake. U.S. military aircraft executing easily trackable sorties very near Venezuelan airspace have been a key component of the pressure campaign placed on Maduro. 

In addition to the growing military pressure on the Venezuelan leader, the U.S. is also raising the stakes economically. Since President Donald Trump declared a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers, U.S. authorities have seized two tankers. On Sunday, the Coast Guard was in “active pursuit” of the massive tanker Bella 1 after it refused to submit to U.S. seizure efforts. The status of that effort was unclear as of Monday afternoon. We have reached out to the Coast Guard for more details.

Though the military and economic pressure are building on Maduro, Trump’s exact intentions remain an open question, although they appear to be becoming clearer by the day. During his announcement of the new Trump class battleships Monday afternoon, the president again said that the U.S. would soon be going after drug cartels on land; however, he explained that would not just be focused on Venezuela.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

A study by booking platform Omio has analysed temperature data across European cities to find which have the warmest weather in January 2026

A fresh analysis from travel booking site Omio has crunched temperature figures for European destinations to pinpoint which cities boast the warmest climate.

Nicosia and Valletta have been crowned the toastiest capital cities to escape to in January 2026, both enjoying average temperatures of 16C.

Malta’s stunning capital, Valletta, sees the mercury climb to 16C throughout January, offering “bright blue skies and Mediterranean sea views,” positioning it as an ideal warm getaway that’s only a short flight from British airports.

Travel specialists noted: “Whether wandering the historic harbour of the Port of Valletta, taking the ferry to neighbouring islands, or dining above the coastline at the famous Panorama Restaurant, Valletta’s winter days feel more like early spring.”

One recent visitor to Valletta gushed about the destination on Tripadvisor, dubbing it “the Caribbean in Europe“. He said: “We recently had the pleasure of visiting Valletta, Malta’s enchanting capital, and what an experience it was! I felt compelled to share the magic we encountered on this journey, especially for those planning their first visit to Valletta.

“As we wandered the streets of Valletta, we were surprised to find that the city had a Caribbean-esque vibe, an intriguing blend that made our exploration even more fascinating. The narrow streets, historical buildings, and the laid-back atmosphere added an unexpected but delightful twist to our trip.”

Nicosia in Cyprus also boasts average January highs of 16C. The travel gurus explained: “Cyprus’ capital is the continent’s strongest bet for warm afternoons, al fresco dining and long strolls, where travellers can walk through centuries of history, from the iconic Venetian walls to Büyük Han.

“With direct transport connections and smooth onward travel, Nicosia offers an effortless mid-winter reset for travellers craving daylight and mild weather.”

Top 10 European cities with the warmest temperature in January

1. Valletta, Malta
2. Nicosia, Cyprus
3. Lisbon, Portugal
4. Athens, Greece
5. Rome, Italy
6. Madrid, Spain
7. Dublin, Ireland
8. Vienna, Austria
9. Paris, France,
10. Brussels, Belgium

Dec. 21 (UPI) — The U.S. Coast Guard is chasing down a third foreign oil tanker in the Caribbean, which refused to be boarded amid President Donald Trump‘s pressure campaign against Venezuela, reports said Sunday.

“The U.S. Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” an unnamed official told NBC News. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.”

The tanker Bella 1 was placed under U.S. sanctions in June 2024 under counterterrorism authorities, according to the Treasury Department, which said the vessel was part of a shipping network linked to Sa’id al-Jamal, a U.S.-designated Houthi financial facilitator.

Vessels in that network have been used to transport sanctioned oil, including Iranian crude, and the proceeds are directed to militant groups, U.S. officials have said in describing the basis for the sanctions.

Separately, U.S. officials said federal authorities obtained a seizure warrant from a magistrate judge authorizing them to take possession of the Bella 1, The New York Times reported. Officials cited Bella 1’s alleged prior involvement in the Iranian oil trade rather than any alleged links to Venezuela.

The ship was allegedly not flying a valid national flag when U.S. forces approached it, which would allow for it to be boarded at sea under international law. But the ship refused to be boarded and continued sailing, one official told The New York Times as another called it “an active pursuit.”

If seized, the Bella 1 would become the third tanker apprehended by U.S. authorities. On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard seized another tanker in international waters near Venezuela after Trump declared a blockade of Venezuela.

That tanker was flying a Panamanian flag and was carrying Venezuelan oil that it expected to sell in Asia, officials alleged.

Last Wednesday, a sanctioned oil tanker called The Skipper was also seized after it left a Venezuelan port. The ship was diverted to Texas and was allegedly flying the flag of Venezuela’s neighbor, Guyana, which said the ship is not among those registered there.

F-35A Joint Strike Fighters from the Vermont Air National Guard‘s 158th Fighter Wing have arrived at the former Roosevelt Roads Navy base in Puerto Rico to take part in Operation Southern Spear. The arrival of these jets is the latest buildup of U.S. forces in the region for the mission to pressure Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. 

TWZ was the first to report that the 158th’s F-35As were being deployed to Southern Spear. You can catch up with our previous story about this operation here.

The jets were captured on video and in still images by airplane spotters. We reached out to the Vermont National Guard for comment.

The Pentagon is continuing to pour assets into the Caribbean to beef up the Trump administration’s military pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and enhanced drug interdiction operations. As additional aerial refueling tankers arrive in the region, the White House is also reportedly preparing to seize more sanctioned oil tankers to further impact Maduro’s income.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to again explain to lawmakers the details of a Sept. 2 attack on a suspected drug boat that also killed the survivors of an initial strike on the vessel. Three more boats were destroyed yesterday in the Operation Southern Spear campaign that began as a counter-narcotics mission but has morphed into one aimed at Maduro.

New imagery emerged on social media Monday showing that at least four more U..S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers have joined six aerial refuelers that recently arrived at Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas in the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, KC-46 Pegasus tankers have been flying sorties out of the U.S. Virgin Islands for months, with a major ramp-up in activity in recent weeks. As we previously noted, forward deploying the tankers reduces the amount of time needed to fly to the region and thus increases time on station and sortie rates.

In addition, an online airplane tracker using the @LatAmMovements X handle said more C-17 Globemaster III heavy cargo jets have arrived in Ecuador with supplies from Erbil, Iraq. The flight was the latest of several from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) region bolstering Southern Spear. CENTCOM declined to comment on that effort.

RCH937 out of MacDill AFB (KMCF) 🇺🇸 en route to Manta (MEC/SEMT) 🇪🇨.

This is the fourth Southern Spear-related cargo flight to Ecuador. This flight is carrying cargo from Erbil, Iraq.

RCH937 | 04-4137 | C-17A | #AE1242 | USAF pic.twitter.com/2ljlQA2UYH

— LatAmMilMovements (@LatAmMilMVMTs) December 16, 2025

The open-source tracker also found that at least nine C-17s have arrived in Puerto Rico from the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, likely carrying supplies and troops ahead of the looming deployment of an unspecified number of F-35A stealth fighters, which we were the first to report. The Vermont National Guard (VNG) declined to offer any details. Low resolution satellite imagery we obtained shows C-17s in Puerto Rico.

RCH234 out of Burlington ANGB (KBTV) 🇺🇸 en route to Roosevelt Roads (RVR/TJRV) 🇵🇷.

This is the ninth cargo flight in support of the 158th FW’s upcoming deployment to PR.

RCH234 | 08-8197 | C-17A | #AE2FA9 | USAF pic.twitter.com/TQVuq7Owe3

— LatAmMilMovements (@LatAmMilMVMTs) December 15, 2025

Low resolution satellite imagery showed C-17s on the ground in Puerto Rico. We also found that , with a major ramp-up in activity in recent weeks.

The new tankers and cargo planes join a growing aerial armada that includes combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft, E/A-18G electronic warfare jets, Marine Corps F-35B and AV-8B Harrier II fighters, MQ-9 Reapers and AC-130 Ghostrider gunships and various helicopters already in the region.

As for the Navy, an official told us Tuesday morning that no new ships have joined the 11 already there, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.

Beyond equipment, U.S. Southern Command continues to expand its footprint in the region. On Monday, Trinidad and Tobago agreed to allow the U.S. military to use its airports for Southern Spear. That follows an earlier deployment by the U.S. Marine Corps of an AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR), a modern road-mobile multi-purpose AESA radar that can be used for air defense and more general air traffic control purposes.

Amid all these aircraft movements, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a new Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) warning them to “exercize caution” in and around Venezuelan airspace.

“OPERATORS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN OPERATING IN THE MAIQUETIA FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION (SVZM FIR) AT ALL ALTITUDES DUE TO THE WORSENING SECURITY SITUATION AND HEIGHTENED MILITARY ACTIVITY IN OR AROUND VENEZUELA,” according to the NOTAM. “THREATS COULD POSE A POTENTIAL RISK TO AIRCRAFT AT ALL ALTITUDES, INCLUDING DURING OVERFLIGHT, THE ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PHASES OF FLIGHT, AND/OR AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND.”

That move came after a Jet Blue airliner had a close encounter with a U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tanker near Venezuela on Friday. The FAA issued a similar NOTAM last month.

ATC audio of US Military aircraft operating DUE REGARD over the Caribbean Sea, this JetBlue pilot sounds pissed but what are they going to do about? 😎 https://t.co/Eq5yCmeEHy

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) December 14, 2025

On the economic front, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to take control of more oil tanker ships in the wake of the seizure of the M/T/ Skipper last week. The goal is to deprive Maduro of revenues gained from oil sales.

Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025

There are upwards of 18 sanctioned oil-laden ships in Venezuela’s waters now, Axios reported. “Eight are classified as ‘Very Large Cargo Container ships’ like Skipper, which can carry nearly 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, according to Samir Madani, co-founder of the firm Tanker Trackers that monitors global shipping.”

So far, Trump has opted against moving into Venezuelan waters to seize any of these vessels, but that could soon change, Axios noted.

“We have to wait for them to move. They’re sitting at the dock. Once they move, we’ll go to court, get a warrant and then get them,” a Trump adviser told Axios. “But if they make us wait too long, we might get a warrant to get them” in Venezuelan waters.

While the Trump administration continues to insist that Southern Spear is directed at stemming the flow of drugs into the U.S., The New York Times on Tuesday suggested Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and competition from China are the real motivating factors.

“Venezuela and its oil lie at the nexus of two of Mr. Trump’s stated national security priorities: dominance of energy resources and control of the Western Hemisphere,” the newspaper noted. “Venezuela has about 17 percent of the world’s known oil reserves, or more than 300 billion barrels, nearly four times the amount in the United States. And no nation has a bigger foothold in Venezuela’s oil industry than China, the superpower whose immense trade presence in the Western Hemisphere the Trump administration aims to curb.”

In its recently published China’s Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, Beijing repeated its stance that it has a valid economic stake in the region and does not want to have its access cut off.

Today I had the chance to read #China’s Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, released just a few days ago.

It is the first update to this document in 9 years and it came immediately after the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine was released. I think the timing… pic.twitter.com/2fA0Atlw00

— Imdat Oner (@imdat_oner) December 15, 2025

Against this backdrop, Hegseth and Rubio provided closed-door briefings to the Senate (SASC) and House Armed Services Committees (HASC) about the Sept. 2 boat strike. It was the first of nearly two dozen such attacks that have so far killed almost 90 people. These attacks – and especially the follow-up one on Sept. 2 that killed survivors – have been strongly condemned by various parties.

Hegseth promised to provide the committees with full versions of the video feed from that attack. Only snippets have been publicly released so far.

The full video of that attack will remain classified and won’t be shown to the public, Hegseth proclaimed. He also justified the boat attack campaign.

Southern Spear has been “a highly successful mission to counter designated terrorist organizations, cartels, bringing weapons – meaning drugs – to the American people and poison the American people for far too long,” Hegseth told reporters gathered at the Capitol. “So we’re proud of what we’re doing…”

Senators received a classified briefing from Secretary Marco Rubio and Secretary Pete Hegseth on the ongoing operations in the Caribbean today, but left without seeing the highly requested unedited video of the Sept. 2 boat strikes, senators said. https://t.co/ezRFeAMfn4 pic.twitter.com/ga3uHgaP8M

— ABC News (@ABC) December 16, 2025

Hegseth’s comments came a day after Trump issued an executive order declaring fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction, a move that could possibly widen the administration’s ability to take action against Maduro, who has a $50 million bounty on his head as a fugitive wanted on U.S. drug charges. However, while Trump and his aides have insisted Southern Spear is aimed mainly at stopping drug trafficking, “Venezuela is not a drug producer, and narcotics smuggled through the country mostly go to Europe,” The New York Times noted.

In a somewhat surprising exchange, Wiles, the president’s chief of staff, suggested getting rid of Maduro may be the real reason Trump is expending so many resources and so much political capital in the Caribbean.

“Over lunch, Wiles told me about Trump’s Venezuela strategy,” Vanity Fair reporter Chris Whipple wrote Tuesday in the second part of an exclusive interview with one of Trump’s closest advisors. Wiles told the magazine that “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.” The story continued, stating “Wiles’s statement appears to contradict the administration’s official stance that blowing up boats is about drug interdiction, not regime change.”

“Over lunch, Wiles told me about Trump’s Venezuela strategy: “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.” (Wiles’s statement appears to contradict the administration’s official stance that blowing up…

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) December 16, 2025

Trump’s true motivations and how he will act on them remain unknown. On Friday, he repeated his refrain that he may soon order strikes against drug traffickers on land in addition to those at sea. Meanwhile, some 15,000 U.S. troops who have surged to the region continue to wait for orders.

Update: 7:49 PM Eastern –

In a post on Truth Social, Trump offered the clearest indication of his motives and terms for the Caribbean build-up and how Venezuela’s oil reserves play a role.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,” Trump wrote. “The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”

Trump also ordered  “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela, however, he did not provide details of how that will work. We reached out to the White House for more information.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

Saying the unedited video of a September 2 strike on a boat in the Caribbean is “top secret,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that its viewing will be restricted to select lawmakers, not the general public.