The U.S. again flew bombers less than 50 miles from the Venezuelan coast as tensions remain high in the region and the USS Gerald Ford continues to approach.
Local outlet Monitoreamos noted that the U.S. flew two strategic B-52H Stratofortress planes identified as TITO41 and TITO42. The operation takes place a week after the U.S. sent B-1B bombers close to the country, noting they turned off transponders while flying over the Caribbean and then turned them on again as they got closer to the Venezuelan shores.
Such aircraft had already flown close to Venezuela a week prior. The records contradicted Donald Trump denial that U.S. bombers had been sent near the country's shores. The B-1B is a supersonic heavy bomber capable of carrying cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions.
The first flight took place about a week after B-52s flew a similar maritime corridor during a Pentagon-described "bomber attack demo" that included Marine F-35s. The U.S. military has concentrated an unusually large force in the Caribbean and off South America, and the USS Gerald Ford, the largest aircraft carrier the country has, continues to approach the region.
President Donald Trump, however, has expressed reservations about ordering strikes in Venezuela, fearing authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro won't leave power even in the case, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal detailed that the strategy remains fluid and decisions can change. A similar argument was given by Trump officials who told lawmakers in a briefing that the administration does not currently have legal authority to launch military strikes inside the South American country.
However, they said, the administration is now seeking a new Justice Department opinion that could allow such attacks without congressional approval.
According to CNN, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and an official from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) informed lawmakers that the existing OLC opinion—written to justify strikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats in international waters—does not apply to land targets in Venezuela or elsewhere in the region.
Officials told lawmakers they are pursuing a separate legal opinion that would provide a justification for attacking land targets without seeking congressional authorization, though no final decision has been made, CNN noted. One U.S. official said policy could shift rapidly, commenting that "what is true one day may very well not be the next," noting that President Trump has not yet decided how he will handle the regime.
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