"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
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.
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