U.S. Special Forces mass near Venezuela as helicopters and B-52s operate across the Caribbean.

U.S. Special Operations helicopters (MH-6, MH-60) were observed operating about 90 miles off Venezuela’s coast and a converted mothership, MV Ocean Trader, was active in the Caribbean, according to The Washington Post.

The Washington Post published on October 16, 2025, that U.S. Special Operations helicopters operated within roughly 90 miles of Venezuela’s coastline while B-52 bombers and other assets expanded a Caribbean posture tied to counter narcotics missions. Visual analysis points to MH 6 Little Birds and MH 60 Black Hawks flying near Trinidad’s offshore energy platforms, with the converted special operations mothership MV Ocean Trader also active in the area. President Donald Trump has said he authorized special forces operations inside Venezuelan territory to fight drug cartels, a development that elevates the operational stakes even as Pentagon officials downplay any imminent land assault. Venezuela’s air defenses, including long-range systems and shoulder-fired missiles, remain a central planning factor for any cross-border profile.
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Night Stalker MH-60s and MH-6s operate near Venezuela with a B-52 overhead and MV Ocean Trader at sea, boosting counter-narcotics reach and rapid raid options (Picture source: Abby Karim on social media).

The helicopter mix strongly suggests the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is part of the operation. The MH-6 and AH-6 Little Bird family brings a compact footprint, skid seating for rapid rope or ladder insertion, and modular weapon planks. Typical fits pair twin M134 7.62 mm miniguns with seven tube 70 mm rocket pods, increasingly using laser-guided APKWS for surgical effects. A stabilized electro-optical and infrared sensor with a laser designator enables day-night target identification and terminal guidance in cluttered littoral or jungle terrain, exactly the environments cartel facilitators prefer.

The MH-60M Black Hawk airframe, in Direct Action Penetrator configuration, trades cabin space for stub wings and sensor turrets, integrating M134 door guns, 70 mm rockets, and AGM 114 Hellfire for precision standoff shots. In the assault configuration, the same platform hauls a full special operations team with fast rope kits, internal auxiliary tanks, and rescue hoists for maritime recovery. 

Heavy theater presence comes from the B-52H Stratofortress orbiting from mainland or regional bases. The eight-engine bomber carries more than 30 metric tons of mixed ordnance and can remain on station for many hours with aerial refueling. Loadouts for a Venezuela contingency would emphasize long-range precision munitions such as JASSM and JDAM, plus Quickstrike sea mines for maritime denial if ordered, while the Sniper targeting pod gives the crew full motion video and laser spot tracking for battle damage assessment. Equally important, the B-52’s radios and datalinks allow it to act as a high altitude coordination node that stitches together helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft, and surface forces across a wide Caribbean zone.

At sea, the MV Ocean Trader functions as a stealthy lily pad. The converted commercial hull provides hangar, fuel, and maintenance for a small helicopter detachment and special boat teams, turning into a mobile forward base that shortens launch distances and compresses response times against fleeting targets. Its utility is deniability and proximity: crews can surge sorties without advertising basing rights or crowding fixed airfields that are easy to watch.

For potential special forces missions inside Venezuela against cartel targets, this aviation stack offers a specific set of operational advantages. Little Birds can skim low over water, drop four to six operators onto a pier, fishing camp, or jungle clearing, then pivot to close air support with rockets or miniguns if a takedown turns difficult. MH-60s bring the lift for larger elements, sensitive site exploitation teams, or detainee handling, while DAP-configured birds provide armed overwatch and precision strike with laser-guided rockets and Hellfire, keeping shooters outside small-arms envelopes and many MANPADS threat rings. Combined with B-52 presence for theater signaling and ISR gateway support, and C-17 logistics into forward hubs, U.S. commanders gain a scalable set of possibilities: discreet capture operations, maritime interdictions that can transition ashore, and rapid combat search and rescue if a raid goes wrong.

Washington’s campaign has already included lethal strikes on suspected drug-running boats in international waters, and Trump has publicly acknowledged authorizing CIA covert action inside Venezuela. U.S. officials describe recent helicopter flights as proficiency training that preserves options; nevertheless, Venezuelan S-300 batteries, mobile short-range air defenses, and SA-24 shoulder-fired missiles complicate any cross-border profile, incentivizing night, nap-of-the-earth routes and short, surgical dwell times. For military operators, the calculus is straightforward: staging from a sea base like Ocean Trader, flying low-signature Night Stalker aircraft, and pairing precision munitions with high-end sensors is how to aim and neutralize mobile cartel networks without telegraphing intent or overexposing forces.

Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.