Some US military forces involved in the Jan. 3 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have begun leaving the region, signaling that the Trump administration is stepping back from a broader ground campaign. A dozen F-22 fighters returned to their home base after the operation, while other assets, including F-35s and a large US naval presence, remain deployed. Officials say Washington is now prioritizing enforcement of a naval oil embargo and counter-drug operations rather than further strikes, framing the raid as a limited law-enforcement action rather than the start of a wider war, reports Chris Gordon of the Air & Space Forces Magazine. Gordon writes:
Some of the U.S. military assets that participated in the Jan. 3 high-stakes raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have departed the region, as the Trump administration has seemingly deferred the option of a wider military campaign inside the country and is relying instead on a naval oil embargo to influence the country’s leadership.
On Jan. 4, a dozen U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors departed Puerto Rico, where they had landed following their participation in Operation Absolute Resolve. […]
The principal military role now appears to be at sea as the U.S. seeks to enforce a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers and to target drug traffickers. […]
The Raptors that left the region were among the 150-plus aircraft that Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said participated in the mission. Service members were spotted posing with an American flag in front of the jets before their departure. […]
The F-22s were joined by F-35s and F/A-18 fighters, EA-18 electronic attack aircraft, and B-1B bombers, which attacked Venezuelan military sites, primarily air defenses, in support of the assault. F-22s also led a strike force into Iran earlier this year during the U.S. operation to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.
Apart from the F-22s, there has been no significant visible drawdown of other U.S. military forces in the region. […]
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