U.S. Army Used Roosevelt Roads for Military Training Days Before Christmas

SAN JUAN — An Air Force special operations unit conducting an “infil” or infiltration of Puerto Rico by boat from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Army special forces hiding among the trees doing close target reconnaissance, and soldiers patrolling the woods at midnight after being dropped off by helicopter — days before Christmas. This is some of the military training that, according to state government contracts, has taken place at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station over the past year. 

Roosevelt Roads, which was first closed in 2004, was brought back to life in the middle of 2025 following the Trump administration’s first airstrikes on boats allegedly trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Since then, the José Aponte de la Torre Airport within the base has been home to various military aircraft, including F-22 fighter jets and C-130 cargo planes. 

Contracts signed between military units and the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) for Roosevelt Roads, which was established to revitalize the area and create jobs after the base’s initial closure, show that several military units have used the base, state government-owned buildings, and the surrounding area for military training purposes over the past year for free. 

The most recent training took place a couple of days before Christmas and implemented “strict operation security measures” to minimize visibility and exposure. While the other trainings seem to be part of named training operations, The Latino Newsletter has not found any indication that this pre-Christmas specific training was part of a named training operation. 

The Army training consisted of search-and-rescue training exercises, helicopter landing and immediate takeoff operations, as well as personnel insertion and extraction, according to the contract signed by a U.S. Army Representative and the LRA’s interim executive director. The contract shows the training was scheduled for one night between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., with authorization requested for up to three alternative nights in the event of adverse weather conditions. U.S. soldiers used the abandoned hospital, the former commissary building, and a former landfill — all owned by the LRA — for the training.

Although the Army Representative’s unit is not described in the contract, a man with the same name was described as part of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in an Air Force publication from 2019 and as a “current Army Ranger and special forces team leader” in a 2023 podcast. 

Because of the training’s proximity to the invasion of Venezuela and January 3 capture of President Nicolas Maduro, dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” The Latino Newsletter asked SOCOM and SOUTHCOM whether it had any relation to the event. SOCOM declined to comment, while SOUTHCOM only said, “Operation Absolute Resolve was meticulously planned. The interagency work began months ago and built on decades of experience of integrating complex air, ground, space, and maritime operations.”

While Roosevelt Roads has been closed for two decades, it has still been used periodically for training before the military began using it on a temporary basis in September 2025, according to U.S. military press releases over the past few years. Since the base was reactivated to support operations in the region, people living in the area have heard military aircraft coming and going at all hours of the night, one even spotting the rare RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone returning to the base following U.S. strikes on Venezuela.

“It would take congressional action, however, to fully reopen the base. Opening the range, however, would face significant local opposition,” Frank Worley, former Public Affairs Officer at the base in the early 2000s, told The Latino Newsletter. He operates a nearly 20,000-member Facebook group for the last two decades that wants the base reopened, and always keeps the possibility open that it could one day happen. He claims that fully reopening the base would have a significant economic impact on the region and help local authorities combat drug smuggling. 

But not everyone is excited about the remilitarization. Mothers Against War and other activist organizations have held almost weekly protests across the archipelago denouncing the military’s heightened presence.

“They are going to use us for what they have always used us, for their agenda of death,” Sonia Santiago, founder of Mothers Against War, told The Latino Newsletter. She explained that they want the military presence to leave, citing the contamination caused by the use of these bases.

A second training took place between late April and early May of 2025. A Training Specialist for the Army Special Forces (USASOC) signed the contract. There is little detail about the training under the government contract, other than that it included close target reconnaissance and that the government posted guards at various points to “prevent observation and participation in the training” by people who were not participating. Drones were also not permitted above the practice area, which consisted of three buildings scattered across the base's massive grounds.

The dates described in the contract align with those of Tradewinds 25, a multinational training operation that included over 1,000 service members from 26 partner and allied nations, and that primarily took place in Trinidad and Tobago. SOUTHCOM confirmed that Puerto Rico was used as “one of four forward operating sites for Airmen from the 137th Special Operations Wing assigned to the Oklahoma Air National Guard,” but did not say if USASOC personnel participated in the event or whether the training described in the contract had a connection with Tradewinds 25.

The contract signed with the LRA mentions a pre-inspection checklist and a post-inspection checklist, but they were not included when the contract was uploaded to Puerto Rico’s government contracts database. 

The final contract for training at Roosevelt Roads was signed by a Director of Operations for the 123 Special Tactics Squadron, the Air National Guard's only special operations unit, which includes combat controllers and pararescue personnel. 

It consisted of airmen conducting an “infil” or infiltration of Puerto Rico under the cover of darkness from St. Croix via a Coast Guard boat dock, then moving by foot to a navigation tower and conducting reconnaissance and communications training while overlooking the airfield and bay, according to the contract. Afterwards, per the document, they were picked up by a C-130 and brought back to the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) held a training exercise named Emerald Warrior 25.2 around the same time, which included exercises in the Caribbean. A USAF press release about the training mentions a mission that spanned two days, where “a group of Airmen traveled 75 nautical miles by boat to conduct reconnaissance and targeting operations on a nearby island held by simulated enemy forces.”

“Emerald Warrior 25.2 did not take place at Roosevelt Roads,” Jennifer Gonzalez, deputy director of public affairs for AFSOC, told The Latino Newsletter over email.

A photo caption of a 123 Airlift Wing airman released by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service seemingly contradicts Gonzalez’s statement. The photo’s caption mentions that he was returning “in the cover of darkness after a more than 30-hour reconnaissance mission at former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station.”

Emerald Warrior 23, which took place in 2023, also used the base for nighttime training. 

The Latino Newsletter previously reported about the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), which was stationed at the airport, ordering three months' worth of food. The contract ended on the last day of 2025. No other contract specifically for food catering at José Aponte de la Torre Airport has been awarded, according to government procurement databases. However, they remain at the base, per social media posts from the unit. 

Since January 30, the Navy has been conducting inert bomb-drop and ordnance training exercises, according to maritime safety notices. Those trainings are scheduled until February 5.

Carlos Berríos Polanco is a journalist from Puerto Rico who covers climate, conflict, and their intersection. He is also the Deputy Editor of The Latino Newsletter’s San Juan Bureau.

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