US fighter jets fly over Gulf of Venezuela in closest approach since Trump’s pressure campaign

A U.S. defense official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of military operations, confirmed the “routine training flight.” The official stated the jets remained in international airspace throughout, though could not confirm if they were armed.

They likened the exercise to previous demonstrations of U.S. aerial reach, emphasizing the maneuver was not meant to be provocative.

The military has previously sent B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers to the region, but those planes flew up to and along the coast of Venezuela. There was no indication that those aircraft ever flew as close to the country’s territory as the F/A-18 fighter jets on Tuesday.

The flights are the latest action the U.S. military has taken as it has built up its largest presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. President Donald Trump says land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from office.

The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 87 people in 22 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

Lawmakers are demanding to get unedited video from the strikes, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders Tuesday he was still weighing whether to release it. Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top national security officials.

The same day, Adm. Alvin Holsey, who will be retiring from U.S. Southern Command in this week, spoke separately with the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Flightradar24, one of the websites that allowed the public to see the jets flying in real time, said the planes were the most tracked flights on its site at the time.

Venezuela has claimed that the body of water is part of the country's national territory, but those claims have been challenged by U.S. legal scholars and the military for decades.