US jets approach Venezuelan airspace amid rising tensions
Flight-tracking data, according to public websites, showed the jets crossing the narrow gulf and performing over thirty minutes of maneuvers, capturing widespread attention as thousands monitored their movements online.
A US defense official confirmed the operation, stating that the Department of Defense “conducts routine, lawful operations in international airspace, including over the Gulf of Venezuela.”
“We will continue to fly safely, professionally, and in accordance with international law to protect the homeland, monitor illicit activity, and support stability across the Americas,” the official, who spoke anonymously, told reports.
This flight comes amid a notable escalation in military activity and US operations aimed at Venezuela. Tensions intensified last Saturday when US President Donald Trump announced that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela would be considered closed “in its entirety.”
Since September, the US has carried out at least 22 strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific targeting vessels suspected of transporting narcotics, resulting in at least 87 fatalities.
Trump last week reiterated his warning that he would soon target Venezuelan drug trafficking networks "by land."
While the Trump administration frames its actions as part of an effort to curb regional drug trafficking, the Maduro government maintains that Washington is attempting to "appropriate Venezuela’s vast oil reserves through the lethal use of military force," portraying the anti-drug operations as a pretext for an illegal effort to remove Maduro from power.
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