By Khamarie Rodriguez
Copyright trinidadexpress
A vessel believed to be a US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer was spotted near the northern coasts of Trinidad and Venezuela yesterday, according to online open source intelligence analysts.
In a post to his X account today, analyst MT Anderson stated that the Arleigh Burke was spotted by Sentinel 2, a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite that provides high-resolution, multispectral satellite imagery for Earth observation.
Using coordinates, provided by self-proclaimed war image satellite analyst Tom Bike, the Express obtained similar images of the vessel on Sentinel 2 taken on September 22.
The Sentinel-2 constellation provides a global revisit frequency of five days
At the time the image was captured by satellite, it was east of La Blanquilla Island, 91 miles from Venezuela’s coastline, and 121 miles from Trinidad.
Anderson speculated that the vessel was the USS Jason Dunham, but added that it was impossible to be sure.
🔎🇺🇸SOUTHCOM OpsSpotted on Sentinel 2 on 22 September 2025, an Arleigh Burke sailing SE towards Trinidad and TobagoShe was spotted East of La Blanquilla islandh/t @tom_bike for a second set of eyes on the IDIf I had to guess, it would be USS Jason Dunham, but it is… pic.twitter.com/C1WnFzZhXN— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) September 23, 2025
Arleigh Burke destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. The USS Jason Dunham, Sampson and Gravely, are part of a US naval buildup currently occurring within the Caribbean sea.
Other US military resources in the Caribbean as part of its ongoing effort to combat drug trafficking in the region, include the Iwo Jima, the lead command vessel of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (the San Antonio and Fort Lauderdale San Antonio-class transport and logistical support ships), the Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a Freedom-class littoral combat ship and the Newport News, a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine.
Following at least four US strikes on vessels allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela, and 17 alleged drug traffickers killed, US President Donald Trump while addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) earlier today said that such actions sent a powerful warning to anyone seeking to bring drugs into the United States.
“To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” Trump said. He claimed that every boat hit by U.S. forces contained drugs that would kill more than 25,000 Americans.
Trump said “any terrorist who smuggles toxic drugs into the United States…We warn you that we will wipe you off the map.”
On Sunday Venezuelan Minister of Defence Vladimir Padrino Lopez announced yesterday that the Venezuelan military would be moving closer to Trinidad and Tobago, to combat what he claimed are criminal acts occurring within territory close to the Gulf of Paria (the stretch of water that separates the two).
Speaking about the Venezuelan military movement during a televised address to citizens on Sunday, Padrino, who previously warned the country of a potential Venezuelan ‘response’, named Trinidad and Tobago as a country from which ‘a lot of smuggling’ and human trafficking occurs.
He said that under the instructions of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the military would be moving to the Sucre State- which includes the Paria peninsula. The closest point between the Sucre State and Trinidad’s northern coast is approximately eight miles.
“Sixty units will occupy the territory of the 15 municipalities of that state to scrutinise and to conduct reconnaissance and clear the area. It should be remembered that from Trinidad and Tobago, a lot of fuel smuggling occurs, as well as smuggling of weapons and ammunition, and a lot of human trafficking.”
“All of that happens along the axis between Mapuro, the tip of the Paria Peninsula, and Trinidad and Tobago. So, we are going there to clear out any terrorist groups or any drug trafficking organizations that are operating illegally in that territory,” said Padrino.
The move comes amid a beefed-up Venezuelan military presence in the Caribbean Sea, particularly on the La Orchila island, which he previously announced would be used as an aerial/naval base from which exercises would be conducted.