A US B-52 bomber flew near the coast of Venezuela on Monday, flight tracking data shows, as such flights have become a regular occurrence amid the US military buildup in the Caribbean and push toward a war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, two B-52 bombers left Minot Air Force Base, with one turning back and the other heading to the Caribbean, where it flew near Venezuela’s coast just north of the capital Caracas while accompanied by US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets.
Just a few days earlier, on November 20, two B-52 bombers made the flight near Venezuela and were joined by F/A-18s dispatched from the USS Gerald Ford, a US aircraft carrier that recently arrived in the region.
The US first began flying bombers near Venezuela’s coast in mid-October, and the flights have occurred weekly since then. The bombers keep their transponders on when flying near Venezuela, meaning they want to be seen. The US military has called the flights “bomber attack demos.”
The provocative flights come as the US has been conducting a bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the region and amid reports that the Trump administration is considering launching a war with Venezuela, which would be illegal without congressional authorization, as per the US Constitution.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has dubbed the military campaign “Operation Southern Spear” and has vowed it will continue. The operation has also involved increased US military drills in Trinidad and Tobago, which is just a few miles from Venezuela’s coast.
