The Trump Administration has deployed three U.S. military aircraft to El Salvador as part of ongoing counter-drug operations in Latin America, bypassing congressional approval.
Satellite imagery obtained by the New York Times shows a P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol and Surveillance Aircraft, a C-40 Clipper Transport Aircraft, and an AC-130J Ghostrider Ground-Attack Gunship at Cooperative Security Location Comalapa, located at El Salvador International Airport.
U.S. Military Expansion in the Caribbean
The aircraft deployments form part of a wider U.S. military buildup across the Caribbean and Central America, aimed at disrupting drug trafficking networks linked to Venezuela.
About 10,000 U.S. troops and a dozen warships are already in the region, conducting operations against alleged drug vessels.
The AC-130J gunship is operated by U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), highlighting the role of elite forces in these missions.
The outpost, which was established in 2000 to support counternarcotics missions, hosted Navy surveillance aircraft until 2022. Since then, satellite imagery shows, the base has been used little, with only occasional Department of Homeland Security aircraft visible there.
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Along with the Ghostrider gunship, there is also a Navy P-8A reconnaissance plane, which is equipped with cameras that can collect intelligence from thousands of feet in the air.
The P-8A is also capable of launching torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
Congressional Opposition to Trump Orders
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators attempted to limit President Trump’s military orders targeting Venezuela, but their proposal was voted down.
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) stated that the deployments aim to carry out Defence Department missions and “advance the president’s priorities to disrupt drug trafficking and protect the homeland.”
The El Salvador outpost, hosted by the country’s president, an ally of Trump, serves as a strategic hub for these operations.
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It’s unclear if the aircraft are participating in airstrikes, but their deployment to the outpost coincided with an increase in attacks on targets in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which borders El Salvador.
The Trump administration has provided little legal justification for the strikes, and Democrats in Congress and experts on the laws of war have called them unlawful.
Adm. James Stavridis, a former head of Southern Command, which includes El Salvador in its area of operations, said the outpost was used in the past for disaster relief, humanitarian, and counternarcotics operations.
“The base is very, very important for soft power,” he said, “but is clearly being used for hard power today.”
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