WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The [United States] has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to conduct operations against drug cartels, sources say, adding more firepower to intensifying U.S. military operations in the Caribbean that are stoking tension with Venezuela.

The new deployment comes on top of an already bristling U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean as President [Donald Trump] carries out a campaign pledge to crack down on groups he blames for funneling drugs into the United States.