US Navy F/A-18 jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela, staying in international airspace. The flight comes amid a major US military buildup and ongoing strikes on drug-smuggling boats.
The US military flew a pair of Navy F/A-18 fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday, marking what appears to be the closest American warplanes have come to the country’s airspace since President Donald Trump launched his pressure campaign against Nicolas Maduro, the Associated Press reported.
Public flight-tracking websites showed the jets circling over the narrow gulf — a body of water bordered by Venezuela and stretching only about 150 miles across — for more than 30 minutes.
A US defense official confirmed the aircraft were conducting a routine training flight, adding that they remained in international airspace. The official, speaking anonymously, would not say whether the jets were armed, but insisted the flight was not meant to be provocative, according to the Associated Press.
The US has earlier sent B-52 and B-1 bombers to the region, but those aircraft stayed farther offshore. Tuesday’s flight brought American military planes closer to Venezuelan territory than at any point in recent years.
The move comes as the US builds its largest regional military presence in decades and continues a controversial campaign of lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Since early September, at least 87 people have been killed in 22 strikes, including two survivors hit by a follow-up strike — an incident now drawing scrutiny from lawmakers.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed congressional leaders on Tuesday alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as lawmakers demanded unedited footage of the boat attacks. Hegseth said he had not yet decided whether to release the videos.
Trump has defended the military actions as essential to combating cartels, saying the US is engaged in an armed conflict with drug traffickers and warning that land attacks are coming soon, though he has offered no specifics.
Flightradar24 said the F/A-18s were the most-tracked aircraft on its platform Tuesday as users watched the jets fly near Venezuelan waters in real time.
TRUMP SIGNALS TOUGHER VENEZUELA LINE
Meanwhile, Donald Trump signaled an even harder edge toward Caracas in an interview with Politico released on Tuesday, declaring that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “days are numbered” and refusing to rule out the use of American ground troops.
Pressed on whether the US could deploy forces, Trump would not elaborate. “I don’t comment on that I wouldn’t say that one way or the other,” he said, adding that he had no intention of spelling out military strategy.
When asked directly how far he was willing to go to remove Maduro, Trump again declined. “I don’t want to say that,” he told reporter Dasha Burns. But when she followed up — “But you want to see him out?” — Trump answered: “His days are numbered.”
The comments come as tensions between Washington and Caracas continue to escalate. The administration has carried out a string of lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and Trump has hinted a land operation could come “very soon.”
With inputs from Associated Press
