U.S. AIR AND NAVAL ASSETS ARE NOW POSITIONED FOR REAL-TIME OPERATIONS

By Pearce Robinson

Satellite images from Sentinel-2 confirm that the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group is positioned off the coast of Trinidad & Tobago as part of the U.S. joint military manoeuvres running November 16–21.

• USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) is positioned 69 km north of Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula
Coordinates: 11.356, -61.691

• USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer are 21 km from Isla de Patos
Coordinates: 10.455, -61.792

At the same time, real-time air tracking shows a U.S. Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker (call sign DREW11) operating directly in the corridor north of Venezuela and west of Trinidad & Tobago.

Aerial refuelling tankers only appear when there is sustained, coordinated air activity to support.

When you combine:

• the Gerald R. Ford strike group
• the USS Gravely
• the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
• the Iwo Jima ARG
• and now a KC-135R running tracks over the same zone

…it becomes clear that the Caribbean basin has shifted from a training environment to a forward operational theatre. The distance between these platforms and Venezuelan territory is measured in minutes.