By JOHN McCARTHY/V.I. Free Press Staff
FREDERIKSTED — If you looked towards the water today, Sunday, January 25, the view at the Frederiksted Pier offered a stark reminder that the Caribbean has become the forward staging ground for the next stage of the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
Docked at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility are two vessels that tell the story of a mission evolving from the high seas to the land. To one side sits the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), a guided-missile destroyer with deep combat experience in the Red Sea and Mediterranean. To the other sits the far more mysterious MV Ocean Trader, a “Special Operations Mothership” that operates under a veil of commercial-style anonymity.
The Special Ops Connection
The presence of the Ocean Trader is the smoking gun for what military insiders are calling Phase II. While the Thomas Hudner provides the maritime shield, the Ocean Trader serves as a floating command center for elite units, including Delta Force and Navy SEALs.
Equipped with stealth boat launch bays and hidden helicopter hangars, the Ocean Trader is designed to move “operators” into theaters without the fanfare of a traditional beach landing. Its presence at the Frederiksted Pier today indicates that St. Croix is a primary logistics hub for teams tasked with dismantling the human-trafficking and “Shadow Fleet” networks remaining in the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s January 3rd capture.
Phase II: The “Land” Theater
According to ground-level observations, Phase II has moved beyond the maritime seizures of Phase I. The mission now focuses on the “human cargo”—the traffickers and regime fixers who move through the seams of the Caribbean.
By using the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility as a rotation point, the U.S. military is able to move specialized personnel directly into regional “dark” zones. While the military brass has kept the details of these land operations quiet, the arrival of these two specialized vessels on Sunday signals that the “net” is finally being pulled shut.
As the sun sets over the pier tonight, the question is no longer if the U.S. is moving onto the land—it is how many “bad guys” have already been caught in the net that stretches from the borders of Mexico to our own shore.
WAR THEATER FOCUS: The St. Croix ‘Gearbox’
A strategic analysis of the military assets currently at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility.
The convergence of these two vessels on Sunday, January 25, 2026, signals that the Caribbean has officially moved into Phase II of Operation Absolute Resolve.
- The “Shadow” Presence: By placing the MV Ocean Trader in the foreground, we highlight the low-visibility side of the war. While it bears the profile of a common merchant vessel, it is a 633-foot floating fortress designed to sustain 159 Special Operations Forces (Delta Force/SEALs) for months at a time. It is the silent engine of the “Land Phase.”
- The Convergence: The rare sight of the USS Thomas Hudner (the “Kinetic” drone-killer) alongside the Ocean Trader (the “Clandestine” troop-carrier) proves that St. Croix is now the central “gearbox” for the region. The Hudner provides the high-tech radar shield, while the Trader serves as the jump-off point for teams dismantling the trafficking networks on land.
- The “Net” Context: This buildup coincides with a massive regional shift. As of this weekend, sources confirm that over 150 political prisoners have been released in Venezuela—a sign that the pressure from these elite units and the maritime blockade is finally breaking the old regime’s grip.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Power at the Frederiksted Pier
| FEATURE | USS THOMAS HUDNER (DDG-116) | MV OCEAN TRADER |
| Visible Identity | YES (Hull #116 / US Navy Grey) | NO (Commercial “Low-Vis” Livery) |
| Length / Tonnage | 510 Feet / 9,217 Tons | 633 Feet / 33,179 Tons |
| Complement | ~330 Navy Sailors | 50 Civilians + 159 Special Ops |
| Primary Arsenal | Tomahawk Missiles / Aegis Radar | Delta Force / SEAL Teams |
| Recent Combat | Shot down missiles/drones (2024-25) | Classified (SpecOps Support) |
| Mission Phase | Phase I: Maritime Shield & Strike | Phase II: Land Theater Logistics |
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