WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday flew two supersonic heavy bombers to the coast of Venezuela, more than a week after another group of U.S. bombers conducted a similar flight as part of training for a hypothetical attack.
The US military has built an unusually large military facility. caribbean powers and President Donald Trump in waters off the coast of Venezuela. may try to defeat President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. Maduro’s face Drug terrorism charges in the US
Adding to the speculation, since early September the U.S. military has carried out deadly attacks on ships in waters off Venezuela, where President Trump claims drug trafficking is taking place.
Two B-1 Lancer bombers took off from Dyce Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew through the Caribbean to the coast of Venezuela, according to flight tracking data. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that B-1 training flights took place in the Caribbean.
The B-1 bomber can carry more bombs than any other aircraft in the US inventory.
A similar flight by slower B-52 Stratofortress bombers was conducted in the area last week. The bombers will be joined by Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighters (the squadron is currently based in Puerto Rico) for what the Pentagon called ‘Bomber attack demonstration’ in online photos.
Asked about Thursday’s B-1 flight and whether it was intended to increase military pressure on Venezuela, Trump said, “That’s wrong, but we’re not happy with Venezuela for many reasons, and drugs are one of them.”
President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after a roundtable discussion on criminal cartels at the White House official dining room on Thursday, October 23, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. forces in the Caribbean include eight warships, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and an F-35 fighter squadron. Submarines have also been confirmed to be active off the coast of South America.
President Trump on Wednesday said he had “legal authority” to carry out airstrikes on suspected drug vessels and suggested similar strikes could be carried out on land.
“If they come by land, we will attack them very, very hard,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re ready to do that, and we’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we get here.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the military had conducted a military operation. 9th strike, Three people died in the Eastern Pacific. This follows another strike in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday night in which two people were killed, bringing the death toll from the strike to at least 37.
Two recent attacks have increased the power of the Trump administration Campaign against drug trafficking in South America From the Caribbean Sea to the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth painted Direct comparison of the war on terror What the United States declared after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Trump administration’s crackdown.
“Our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is that we will treat you as we have treated al-Qaeda,” Hegseth told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
“We will find you, map your networks, hunt you down and kill you,” he added.
