There are nine naval assets in the Caribbean due to Venezuela and Nicolas Maduro and his position as a drug king pin. the assets include destroyers, amphibious assault ships, reconnaissance, fighter aircraft, a submarine and drones.
Newsweek has a great map of the deployments and ship descriptions. Included in the Newsweek piece is the following:
The deployment reflects the Trump administration’s assertive approach to countering drug trafficking while signaling pressure on the Venezuelan government. Late on Tuesday, U.S. forces in the region launched a missile strike that destroyed a suspected drug boat linked to Venezuela, killing those on board, Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
By positioning advanced warships and long-range aircraft near Venezuelan waters, Washington is seeking to demonstrate both tactical capability and political resolve. In response, Venezuela is mobilizing troops and military assets, raising the prospect of a direct standoff in the southern Caribbean.
What is likely not revealed by these operations in the Caribbean is the matter of China. China has moved into the region in a huge force and very few are even aware of this threat. How so you ask?
In part: By 2022, ten countries had already joined Beijing’s so-called Belt and Road Initiative: Cuba, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica
China’s growing influence in Cuba and the broader Caribbean region has raised concerns among U.S. experts, who warn that Beijing’s expanding economic and military presence could pose a strategic threat to the United States.
China has significantly expanded its influence in the region through economic investments, diplomatic ties, and military cooperation, particularly with authoritarian regimes like Cuba. Experts warn that these efforts are part of a broader strategy to turn the Caribbean into a “Chinese lake,” according to a Newsweek report published on Sunday.
According to World Trade Organization data, Chinese manufacturing exports surged to $1.81 trillion in 2023, a 30-fold increase from 2002, while the U.S. global trade deficit exceeded $1.2 trillion. Chinese trade with the Caribbean skyrocketed from $1 billion in 2002 to $8 billion in 2019, including $6.1 billion in exports and $1.9 billion in imports.
China’s Deepening Ties With Cuba
Cuba has been one of China’s most loyal allies in the region for decades, with strong economic and military cooperation. A significant uptick in this relationship was observed in 2021, following Cuba’s July 11 (11J) protests, when Chinese paramilitary forces trained Cuban elite security units responsible for suppressing dissent. The Brigada Especial Nacional (BEN), a unit under Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior, reportedly received tactical training from China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP), a paramilitary force specializing in riot control and counterterrorism.
Sources told ADN Cuba that PAP training in Cuba began approximately six years before the 2021 protests, focusing on sniper tactics, intervention strategies, and specialized training for elite Cuban security forces. This collaboration underscores China’s role in bolstering the Cuban regime’s ability to suppress political opposition.
Beyond infrastructure projects and military cooperation, China is also strengthening its diplomatic and cultural footprint in communist Cuba. In May 2024, Beijing and Havana resumed direct flights between the two countries. The Cuban regime has also introduced visa exemptions for Chinese citizens with ordinary passports, making travel between both nations easier. More details here.
*** FNC has called on experts to describe the Chinese threat so close to to the U.S. coastline.
China is steadily expanding in the Bahamas through projects that blur economic development and geopolitical aims, an expert warned.
“The People’s Republic of China has been making diplomatic, economic and even military and quasi-military inroads into the Caribbean, South and Central America for the past couple of decades,” retired Rear Adm. Peter Brown, former Homeland Security advisor to President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital.
Brown pointed to the rise in dual-use infrastructure projects along the Bahamas coastline, which is located just 50 miles off the coast of Florida.
“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination for the People’s Republic of China to use its commercial footprint in the Bahamas to monitor, exploit and perhaps even do worse to [the] U.S.,” he said.
Pointing to the Chinese-controlled British Colonial Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas, Brown said that its location directly across from the U.S. Embassy could give way to intelligence gathering on U.S. personnel.
“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think that additional electronics were put in there with the purpose and the task of keeping an eye not only on the U.S. Embassy itself, but also the U.S. Embassy visitors,” he said.
The hotel is owned by a Chinese company, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which has raised geopolitical concerns given its location. Fox News Digital has reached out to the British Colonial Hotel for comment.
China has invested heavily in the Bahamas through a range of additional high-profile projects, including a $40 million grant for a national stadium, a $3 billion mega-port in Freeport, and $40 million for the North Abaco Port and Little Abaco Bridge.
Additionally, China EXIM Bank provided over $54 million in loans to construct a four-lane highway and nearly $3 billion to finance the development of the Baha Mar Resort.
*** You can bet our high tech naval assets are picking up information and reporting back to the national security council and Secretary of State Marco Rubio…it is no wonder he has spent a good deal of time in the region.
