US revives abandoned Cold War base in Caribbean amid buildup near Venezuela
Iran Press TV
Monday, 03 November 2025 7:18 AM
The US military is upgrading a long-abandoned Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, signaling preparations for sustained aggression that could support potential interventions in Venezuela.
According to a Reuters report, the US Southern Command is restoring Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, shuttered by the Navy more than 20 years ago.
Reconstruction of the base began on September 17, shortly after the US Southern Command initiated a military buildup in the Caribbean and off Venezuela's coast.
Until its closure in 2004, Roosevelt Roads was one of the largest US naval stations in the world, occupying a strategic location and providing extensive space for equipment storage, a US official said.
In addition to upgrading landing and take-off facilities at Roosevelt Roads, the US is expanding infrastructure at airports in Puerto Rico and St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Both territories lie roughly 800 kilometers from Venezuela.
These developments point to preparations that could allow the US military to carry out attacks on Venezuelan soil.
The military buildup in the region is the largest unrelated to disaster relief since 1994, when the United States sent two aircraft carriers and more than 20,000 troops to Haiti for a military intervention code-named as "Operation Uphold Democracy."
Since August, the Caribbean and waters near Venezuela have seen an intensified US military presence, including 6,000 personnel, destroyers, anti-submarine aircraft, battleships, nuclear submarines, and F-35 squadrons.
On October 24, the Pentagon announced the deployment of Carrier Strike Group Twelve (CSG-12) to the Southern Command, claiming its mission is solely to "detect, monitor, and interdict illicit activities that threaten the security and prosperity of the United States."
The arrival of CSG-12, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, will increase US troop numbers in the region to roughly 10,000.
On October 15, US President Donald Trump stated that he had authorized CIA operations in Venezuela and was considering possible ground interventions.
"We have almost totally stopped it by sea. Now we will stop it by land," Trump said from the Oval Office, referring to what he described as drug trafficking.
This mounting military presence has fueled fears that Washington may attempt to destabilize or even invade Venezuela under fabricated pretexts.
The Southern Command has conducted at least 15 assaults in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September, killing no fewer than 62 people.
The frequency of these strikes has escalated sharply, increasing from one operation every few weeks to two assaults on alleged drug vessels in the past four days alone.
On October 24, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, speaking in a national broadcast, said the Trump administration is manufacturing "a new eternal war."
"They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war that we will avoid," Maduro said.
"They are fabricating an extravagant narrative, a vulgar, criminal, and totally fake one," he continued, adding, "Venezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves."
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