The United States has deployed B-1 supersonic bombers to the coast of Venezuela, strengthening its military presence in the Caribbean amid rising tensions with the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.
The Pentagon reported that the B-1s took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew over the Caribbean Sea toward the Venezuelan coast as part of routine training exercises. Meanwhile, a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the flights took place near Venezuela’s shores but did not specify whether the aircraft entered the country’s airspace.
The B-1 Lancer is capable of carrying the largest weapons payload of any US Air Force aircraft, including long-range cruise missiles.
At the same time, a US official speaking to journalists on condition of anonymity confirmed that the flights took place near Venezuela’s coast but did not specify whether the aircraft entered the country’s airspace.
US military activity in the region has intensified since September — that’s when American forces began striking vessels allegedly used for drug trafficking near Venezuelan waters, according to President Donald Trump. The operations sparked speculation that Washington might be preparing a larger-scale mission against the regime of Nicolás Maduro, whom the US accuses of narco-terrorism.
Last week, B-52 Stratofortress bombers also patrolled the region, escorted by Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighters based in Puerto Rico. The Pentagon described those flights as a bomber strike demonstration.
When reporters asked President Trump whether the B-1 flights were meant as a show of pressure on Venezuela, he replied: “It’s false, but we’re not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons. Drugs being one of them.”
At present, eight US warships are deployed in the Caribbean Basin, along with a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, a squadron of F-35 fighters, and a submarine operating near the coast of South America.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that US forces have already carried out nine airstrikes as part of the anti-narcotics campaign, killing at least 37 people. He compared these operations to the war on terror launched by the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks:
“Our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated al-Qaeda. We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.”
US Southern Command, which oversees Latin America and the Caribbean, is forming a task force for drug interdiction in the Western Hemisphere. This group appears set to handle the situation in Venezuela.
Covert CIA operation
The Trump administration has secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela, according to US officials, stepping up a campaign against President Nicolás Maduro, the country’s authoritarian leader, reported News York Times on Friday.
The authorization is the latest step in the Trump administration’s intensifying pressure campaign against Venezuela. For weeks, the US military has been targeting boasts off the Venezuelan coast it says are transporting drugs, killing 27 people. American officials have been clear, privately, that the end goal is to driver Mr Maduro from power.
Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that he had authorized the covert action and said the United States was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory. “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” the president told reporters hours after The New York Times reported the secret authorization.
Any strikes on Venezuelan territory would be a significant escalation. After several of the boat strikes, the administration made the point that the operations had taken place in international waters.
The new authority would allow the CIA to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean. The agency would be able to take covert action against Mr Maduro or his government either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation. It is not known whether the CIA is planning any specific operations in Venezuela.
But the development comes as the US military is planning its own possible escalation, drawing up options for President Trump to consider, including strikes inside Venezuela.
The scale of the military buildup in the region is substantial: There are currently 10,000 U.S. troops there, most of them at bases in Puerto Rico, but also a contingent of Marines on amphibious assault ships. In all, the Navy has eight surface warships and a submarine in the Caribbean.
The new authorities, known in intelligence jargon as a presidential finding, were described by multiple US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the highly classified document.
'No crazy war, please!'
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday launched a plea in English as tensions mount between Washington and Caracas: "No crazy war, please!"
Maduro's comment came after US President Donald Trump said he had authorized covert action against the South American nation, and amid an escalating US military campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific.
"Yes peace, yes peace forever, peace forever. No crazy war, please!" Maduro said in a meeting with unions aligned with the leftist leader, a former bus driver and union leader.
The United States has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships as part of what it calls anti-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets -- eight boats and a semi-submersible -- were smuggling drugs.
The US strikes, which began on September 2, have killed at least 37 people, according to an AFP tally based on US figures.
Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign, with Maduro accusing Washington of seeking regime change.
Late Thursday, the government in Trinidad and Tobago -- located just off Venezuela's coast -- announced that a US warship would dock in its capital from October 26-30.
The Trinidadian foreign ministry said a unit of US Marines would conduct joint exercises with its defense forces.
Two of those killed in the US strikes were from Trinidad and Tobago.
Last week, Trump said he had authorized covert CIA action against Venezuela and was considering strikes against alleged drug cartels on land.
The Republican billionaire president accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel, a charge the Venezuelan leader denies.
"We know the CIA is present" in Venezuela, the country's defense minister Vladimir Padrino said Thursday.
"They may deploy -- I don't know how many -- CIA-affiliated units in covert operations...and any attempt will fail."
Padrino was overseeing military exercises along Venezuela's coast in response to the US military deployment in the Caribbean.
Experts have questioned the legality of using lethal force in foreign or international waters against suspects who have not been intercepted or questioned.–Agencies