American Military Might Puts the Squeeze on Venezuelan Drug Smugglers with 'Night Stalkers' Unit
The “Night Stalkers” are circling Venezuela.
Officially known as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the “Night Stalkers” unit has a roster of attack helicopters — such as the Army’s MH-60 Black Hawks and small transport helicopters — that can deploy Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, or Delta Force personnel, according to the New York Post.
Defense expert Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Colonel who now works with the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington, D.C., said images taken this month have shown so-called “Little Bird” helicopters off the coast of Venezuela.
No other unit has those choppers, he said.
“They have excellent surveillance equipment to watch for potential drug smugglers coming out of Venezuela and the attack capabilities to destroy those vessels. They could also seize vessels, although they have not done that yet as far as is known,” Cancian explained.
👀 Black helicopters of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment of the US Army, also known as Night Stalkers, and which were spotted a couple of weeks ago near the coast of Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/QnHGbnRXQf
— big ben (@alternative_war) October 18, 2025
“The 160th could take special operations forces into Venezuela to strike cartel or regime targets. I don’t expect that because of the risk of casualties or capture, but it’s possible,” he noted.
Earlier this month, images showed the helicopters training less than 90 miles off the coast of Venezuela, according to The Washington Post.
A report in The New York Times said deployment of the “Night Stalkers” near Venezuela was done to “provide options to President Trump.”
🚨🇺🇸#BREAKING | NEWS ⚠️
3 B-52 long range nuclear bombers have been spotted near the Caribbean and Venezuela. They departed from Shreveport AFB☢️ pic.twitter.com/PiD1nzanSM— Todd Paron🇺🇸🇬🇷🎧👽 (@tparon) October 15, 2025
The ramp-up of military pressure also included several B-52 bombers that flew near Venezuela on Thursday while remaining in international airspace.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he approved CIA covert action in Venezuela, which has been the center of U.S. pressure on narco-terrorists.
Trump noted on Truth Social that the latest vessel destroyed by the U.S. was a submarine.
“It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route,” Trump wrote.
“U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics. There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore.
📹 DESTROYED: Confirmed DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE navigating towards the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking transit route.
“Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.” – President Trump pic.twitter.com/N4TAkgPHXN
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 18, 2025
“The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”
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