U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft landed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and another from Burlington approached José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Puerto Rico, while a KC-135R tanker held position off Venezuela's coast and a KC-46A tanker departed the area, according to SA_Defensa posts on X shared between 1:46 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. UTC on December 16, 2025. Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico announced they will not participate in the 2026 Caribbean Series scheduled for February 1-7 in Venezuela, citing "external situations beyond their control," in an official statement from the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, as reported by ElExtrabase on X during the same 59-minute period. These U.S. military aircraft movements follow Trinidad and Tobago's approval earlier on December 16 for U.S. military aircraft to use its airports over coming weeks, announced between 1:15 a.m. and 1:45 a.m. UTC, according to a Visegrad24 post on X citing an Associated Press report. The developments occur amid escalating regional tensions, including Venezuela's termination of natural gas contracts with Trinidad and Tobago on December 15 over a U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil on December 10, as stated in a Venezuelan government release, and the arrival of over 120 Russian military personnel in Venezuela on December 16 for Pantsir-S1 training, per Globalsurv on X.
