For more than twenty years the Roosevelt Roads naval base, in Ceiba (Puerto Rico), had been closed – empty walls, completely abandoned and a port without ships. But now, the Trump Administration wants to bring it back to life and reactivate it as one of the most important points to fight drug trafficking in the country.
President Trump has sent ten F-35 fighters and several warships to pressure Nicolás Maduro (the president of Venezuela) and the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Aragua.
Long before the F-35s arrived, cargo planes such as the C-5 Galaxy and the C-17 Globemaster III had already been spotted near the facilities, as well as other types of aircraft, and this has fueled the debate: is this naval base in Puerto Rico available again or is it something temporary?
From symbol to strategy
Roosevelt Roads was built in World War II and became one of the largest and most important naval bases on the planet. From there military operations were coordinated in Haiti, Panama, Grenada and the Dominican Republic. But in 2004 it closed after years of protests over the bombings in Vieques… Also because the U.S. changed its military strategy and was no longer interested in keeping this base available.
For its part, Puerto Rico tried to give it economic use, but it was something that never fit and ended up closing its doors. Until now, when to pressure Venezuela they want it to become an operations center again.
What has happened these weeks?
There has been a lot of movement. In addition to the F-35Bs, as we said, C-5 Galaxy cargo planes, CH-53K King Stallion helicopters and Marine Ospreys have been moved, the amphibious expeditionary group Iwo Jima and the 22nd Marine Unit (which have been training on the island for weeks).
A drone attack was even confirmed against a Venezuelan vessel suspected of transporting drugs, with eleven dead… Although this has generated much debate because they cannot certify if they were really drug traffickers or migrants in search of a better life. Still, Washington claims they were linked to the Tren de Aragua.
The naval base
It is located at the easternmost point of the main island of PR, in Ceiba, it has 11,000 feet and is a strategic point in the Caribbean.
And for Puerto Rico…?
The base meant work for many years, some Puerto Rican governors are in favor of reopening it. However, others are against it because the reopening could bring social problems that already marked part of the past and they are not willing to repeat that.
A place with history
The idea had been thought of since 1919, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the island as Assistant Secretary of the Navy! He wanted to do something there, but it was decades later when it was key in the Cold War and in the tensions with Cuba. With its closure in 2004 it seemed like a closed chapter, but geography rules. A strategic point in the Caribbean cannot be wasted, it is too valuable.
Does it stay or not stay?
The Pentagon assures that there are no plans to reopen it permanently. But with the pressure on Venezuela and the political interest in Puerto Rico, the possibility is there. For now, the only sure thing is that the base has returned to operation and is part of the U.S. strategy in the region.
What is happening with Roosevelt Roads is proof that the U.S. continues to use its old cards when the situation requires it. And it once again places Puerto Rico on the world military map. Nobody knows if it will be temporary or definitive, but what is clear is that this “sleeping giant” is already awake…