The trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and the New England Patriots are viewed as a potential buyer this year. They are an ascending young football team with an elite quarterback under center and plenty of money to spend.

The surge of American forces to the eastern Caribbean in particular has inflamed tensions with Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro, with U.S. officials accusing his regime of aiding narcotics networks. Caracas, in turn, has accused Washington of seeking regime change.