Two US fighter jets were tracked circling the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday as tensions continue to escalate between the two countries.
The F/A-18 Super Hornets appeared on flight tracking sites near Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city, at around 13:00 (17:00 GMT), before circling the gulf for about 40 minutes.
A US defense official told the Associated Press that the F/A-18 jets had conducted a routine training flight in the area.
This incident comes amid a wave of US strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea, which the White House notes are trafficking drugs to the US from Venezuela. Recent strikes have raised questions regarding their legality, resulting in over 80 casualties.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the US of using these strikes to destabilize the country and oust him from power. In an interview conducted with Politico shortly before the jets approached the Venezuelan coastline, Trump hinted that Maduro's days in power were numbered while refraining from commenting on potential US troop deployments.
In addition to the F/A-18s, an EA-18G Growler was also tracked just before the Super Hornets. The aircraft exhibited flight patterns just north of the Venezuelan coast.
This series of military flights marks a notable increase in US airforce activities around Venezuela since September, with previous sightings of B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers along the coast. Notably, the latest F/A-18 flights were conducted within 20 nautical miles of Venezuela’s coastline—potentially the closest US jets have approached the area in recent months, although officials assert that the jets remained within international airspace.
The F/A-18s operated under the callsigns RHINO11 and RHINO12, flying six loops throughout the Gulf of Venezuela, while the Growler, codenamed GRIZZLY2, circled the coast.
Experts comment that the flights might be intended to probe Venezuelan defense systems and measure responses, with the Growlers monitoring signals intelligence, while the Super Hornets provided air defense. This could either serve as intelligence gathering for future operations or simply act as a warning.
The US has increased military deployment in the Caribbean, positioning troops, ships, and jets to combat drug trafficking. Recent communications from US Southern Command revealed images of an F/A-18 operating from the USS Gerald Ford, highlighting its strategic presence in the region.
Additionally, satellite analyses have confirmed the deployment of at least nine military vessels to the area, and investigations reveal that a previously closed airbase in Puerto Rico has been reactivated with repairs made to facilitate the deployment of F-35 fighters.
