The elite group known as Night Stalkers – one of the most secretive and feared units in the United States Armed Forces – was seen operating in the Caribbean Sea, about 150 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela, amid growing pressure from President Donald Trump on Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
The aircraft of Night Stalkers, members of the 160th US Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), were recorded in maneuvers near the island of Trinidad, according to newspaper reports The Guardian and the New York Post.
Created in 1981, the regiment – whose unofficial insignia is “Death Waits in the Dark” (“Death Waits in the Dark”) — has a history of participating in some of the riskiest operations in U.S. military history. Its pilots have flown missions against the Islamic State in the Middle East, fought warlords in Somalia, and taken the Navy Seals Americans to the hiding place of Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, in Pakistan, during Operation Neptune Spear, em 2011.
Os Night Stalkers operate MH-60 attack helicopters Black Hawk and light models Little Birdcapable of transporting elite troops, such as the Navy Seals, Green Berets and members of the Delta Forcein nighttime infiltration or rescue raids. As I told the New York Post retired colonel Mark Cancian, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the presence of Night Stalkers during training in the Caribbean indicates “practice for possible missions against drug cartels – or even against the regime itself [de Maduro]”.
In parallel with the presence of Night StalkersB-52 bombers and North American F-35 fighters were also deployed in the region, in a clear message of strength. Last week, Trump also confirmed that he had authorized secret CIA operations inside Venezuela and declared that Maduro “does not want to play with the United States”.
Historically, the Night Stalkers already endure in Latin America. According to the Guardianin 1983 they participated in the invasion of Grenada, ordered by then-president Ronald Reagan, and in 1989 they helped capture Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega during Operation Just Cause.
