An elite Army unit capable of inserting some of the American military’s most deadly special operations forces into a fight has been deployed to the Caribbean as President Trump exerts an increasing show of force in Venezuela.
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the vaunted “Night Stalkers,” operates attack helicopters like the Army’s MH-60 Black Hawks and small transport helicopters into the most perilous situations.
Video surfaced earlier this month showing Army Black Hawks and smaller ‘Little Birds” undergoing training in Trinidad, located about 500 miles east of the capitol city of Caracas, giving the first hint of the rotary-wing power being readied.
The “Night Stalkers” are able to deposit highly trained fighters, including Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, or Delta Force personnel, into battle zones.
Training with such aircraft indicated practice for potential missions battling drug cartels — or even the regime itself — said defense expert Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Colonel now with the Center for Strategic International Studies in DC.
No other element of the armed forces uses the “little bird” helicopters that have been spotted off the Venezuelan coast.
“They have excellent surveillance equipment to watch for potential drug smugglers coming out of Venezuela and the attack capabilities to destroy those vessels. They could also seize vessels, although they have not done that yet as far as is known,” Cancian told the Post.
Then there are the most extreme measures the Night Stalkers have trained for.
“The 160th could take special operations forces into Venezuela to strike cartel or regime targets. I don’t expect that because of the risk of casualties or capture but it’s possible,” he noted.
The special operations aviation force had flown within 90 miles of the Venezuelan coast, a Washington Post analysis found. The move appears designed to get the regime’s attention.
In yet another potent show of force, the U.S. military flew powerful B-52 bombers off the coast of Venezuela Thursday.
Asked Friday about left-wing dictator Nicolás Maduro offering “everything” to avoid a confrontation, Trump contended the Venezuelan leader “doesn’t want to f–k around with the United States.”
The White House calls the Maduro regime “illegitimate.”
Trump has also confirmed that he authorized covert CIA action inside Venezuela.
“I authorized for two reasons, really. Number 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America … And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela.”
The military says it has destroyed six alleged drug vessels off the coast of Venezuela. Trump said the latest vessel hit by the US was a submarine carrying illegal drugs. He has hammered Venezuela for sending deadly fentanyl into the US.
Venezuela has been mobilizing its own show of much more limited force. Its army is said to number 125,000, although Maduro claims he can mobilize a militia of millions to defend his homeland.
The government has been airing propaganda videos, including some of “slightly plump” Venezuelans running obstacle courses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“The people are ready for combat, ready for battle,” Maduro told a crowd this week.
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