Washintom — The United States military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appears to be the closest approach of American warplanes to the South American country’s airspace since the start of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign.
Public flight tracking websites showed a pair of U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets flying over the Gulf, a body of water bordered by Venezuela and only about 241 kilometers (150 miles) at its widest point, and spending more than 30 minutes flying over the water. A U.S. defense official confirmed that a pair of aircraft conducted a “routine training flight” in the area.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to report on sensitive military operations, could not say whether the planes were armed, but noted that they remained in international airspace during their flight.
The official compared the training flight to previous exercises aimed at showcasing the range of American aircraft and said the maneuver was not intended to be provocative.
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The military has previously sent B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers to the region, but those flew to and along the coast of Venezuela. There were no indications that those aircraft flew as close to the country’s territory as the F/A-18 fighter jets did on Tuesday.
The flights are the most recent action by the United States military as it builds its largest presence in the region in decades and has launched a series of deadly attacks against suspected drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. President Donald Trump says that ground attacks will arrive soon, but has not offered details about the location.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claims that the true purpose of the United States military operations is to force him to leave office.
The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over the campaign of attacks on ships that has killed at least 87 people in 22 known bombings since the beginning of September, including a follow-up attack that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first impact.
Lawmakers want to see the unedited videos of the attacks, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders on Tuesday that he was still evaluating it. Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other senior national security officials.
The same day separately, Admiral Alvin Holsey, who was in command of the campaign to destroy speedboats that supposedly transport drugs and will retire from the United States Southern Command this week, spoke with the main Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States and claims that the country is involved in an “armed conflict” with the cartels.
Flightradar24, one of the websites that allows you to publicly see airplanes flying in real time, said that military aircraft were the most followed on its site at that time.
Venezuela claims that the body of water is part of the national territory, but those claims have been challenged by legal academics from the United States and the military for decades.
