"Jungle Thunder: A Multinational Approach to Improving U.S. Capabilities in Jungle Warfare"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez and Andre Carvalho
Americas Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies
14 November, 2025
Published: https://www.csis.org/analysis/jungle-thunder-multinational-approach-improving-us-capabilities-jungle-warfare
A sizable U.S. Navy fleet continues to sail across Caribbean waters,
hunting down vessels suspected of transporting drugs. Meanwhile, U.S.
Marines have been deployed to Puerto Rico, where Cold War–era military
facilities have been reopened. On November 13, Secretary Pete Hegseth
announced via social media Operation Southern Spear,
led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and U.S. Southern Command, which
will have the goal of “[removing] narco-terrorists from our
Hemisphere.” At the time of writing, the general assumption in Washington is that targeted air strikes against Venezuela will occur. More extreme analyses have
discussed a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela. The latter possibility
is unlikely, given that the number of troops deployed (so far) is not
conducive to invading Venezuela like the U.S. operations in Afghanistan
in 2001 or Iraq in 2003.
Analyses of a hypothetical U.S. military
operation with boots on the ground overlook one critical issue: jungle
warfare (JW). U.S. troops in Venezuela would not just fight in Caracas
or Maracaibo; they would also have to engage in jungle operations. JW is
a unique type of combat, something that the U.S. military has not had
to engage in (apart from select operations
in Africa) since the Vietnam War. Fortunately for Washington and the
U.S. armed services, there are many partners and allies in South
America, whose militaries are experts at this type of warfare. In this
analysis, the authors propose a method to improve the U.S. military’s
capabilities and training in JW: the multinational exercise Jungle
Thunder.
