WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off the coast of Venezuela since this summer, when the Trump administration first began to shift assets to the region as part of its so-called war against narcoterrorism.

It’s not US warships that are weighing on the minds of many Venezuelans, but a more pressing, personal issue: how to pay the bills.

The US military bombed two more suspected drug smuggling vessels — this time in the Eastern Pacific — killing five “narco-terrorists” on board, War Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed

Defense startup Castelion said on Friday it has won contracts to integrate its Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon with current U.S. Army systems, the first step toward allowing the military to place the powerful and nearly unstoppable weapons around the world.

Amid a stubborn government shutdown, payday was a nervous affair for military families in this military-heavy region.