Two US B-1B Lancer bombers departed the US and flew near the coast of Venezuela on Monday, according to flight tracking data, in the latest US provocation aimed at the country and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro.
The flight marks the third time US bombers have flown near Venezuela since October 15, signaling that the provocations will be a regular occurrence. According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, the bombers took off from the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and refueled over Florida on their way to the Caribbean.
Flight trackers show that the bombers flew parallel to Venezuela’s coast, south of small islands that are part of Venezuela’s territory. All of the US bombers that have made the flight to the waters near Venezuela since October 15 have kept their transponders on, meaning they wanted to be seen.
The latest bomber flight comes after the US War Department announced it was deploying an aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, and its strike group to the waters near Venezuela, which will mark a significant escalation of US firepower in the region.
Reports have indicated the US is preparing to bomb Venezuela amid US strikes on boats in the region, and while drug trafficking is the pretext, US officials have made clear that the real goal is regime change. President Trump has also confirmed that he signed off on the CIA conducting covert operations inside Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government claimed on Sunday that it captured mercenaries linked to the CIA who were coming from Trinidad and Tobago, where the US just docked a warship. The Venezuelan government said that it determined a “false-flag attack is underway from waters bordering Trinidad and Tobago, or from Trinidad or Venezuelan territory itself.”
