Historic US Military Base Revived For New Mission In The Caribbean

Puerto Ricans experienced a blast from the past in September 2025 as activity, including the arrival of F-35B stealth fighters and several other aircraft, has taken place at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads. Operations at the station were discontinued in 2004 but the base became partially operational again as part of President Donald Trump's counter-narcotics operations. The base, which has a history dating back to World War II, is not officially reopening, though some are considering what a reopening might mean for Puerto Rico and the U.S.

The U.S. military has hundreds of bases in all corners of the world, including more than 30 in Puerto Rico as of 2021. The 8,650-acre Roosevelt Roads facility has an 11,000-foot runway, which can support aircraft like the Boeing C-5 Galaxy, the largest plane in the Air Force's fleet. Along with the C-5 and the fighters, MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and USMC CH-53K King Stallion helicopters have also been spotted at the newly active base. The Air Force has also reopened the airport communications control tower there. The base appears to be a crucial staging area amid rising tension with Venezuela as Trump takes aim at narco-traffickers in the Caribbean.

Naval Station Roosevelt Roads was named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was then the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (and whose history, beyond his presidential years, also includes some interesting car lore). The base was his brainchild, developed after a surveying trip to Puerto Rico in 1919. It opened as a U.S. Naval Operations Base in 1943 before being designated as a naval station in 1957 during the Cold War. Along with the runway, the base also boasted a deep-water port for ships and submarines. It was one of the largest naval facilities in the world and also became an extensive part of Puerto Rico's economy.

Eventually, the base became a coordinating facility and staging point for the U.S. Navy's bombing range, located about 10 miles away. When the Vieques bombing range closed, the naval facility was also recommended for closure under the Base Realignment & Closure (BRAC) process. The Navy moved housing units, schools, and even a hospital that had all been on base grounds to Puerto Rico. In the ensuing 20 years, there has been an effort to develop parts of the former base, but the plans have not been fleshed out. The U.S. has occasionally used the base over the years, most recently in 2017 as part of relief efforts after Hurricane Maria.

As part of its counter-narcotics mission, the Trump administration is strengthening the U.S. military's presence and capacity in the Caribbean and Latin America. At the end of August 2025, activity was spotted at Roosevelt Roads, including the arrival of the aforementioned aircraft and training exercises for the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The F-35 Joint Strike fighter jets were ordered to the region in early September 2025 following an incident where Venezuelan F-16s reportedly approached a U.S. Navy destroyer ship.

Despite recent activity, the U.S. military has no plans to permanently reopen the shuttered base. Officials in Puerto Rico, however, are eying a different future. Two Puerto Rican senators in 2025 introduced legislation seeking an investigation into the possibility of reactivating the facility. According to the Puerto Rico Report, Senator Nitza Morán Trinidad stated, "Today, we have a responsibility to seriously and strategically consider the possibility of its facilities once again playing a key role — not only in the defense of the Caribbean and the Americas but also in the economic revitalization of Ceiba and the surrounding municipalities." For now, activity at the base is expected to continue as the Trump administration focuses its counter-narcotics operations on Central and South America.