The United States conducted a noteworthy military operation on Tuesday, deploying two fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela. This event seems to represent the closest U.S. military aircraft has ever approached Venezuelan airspace, according to various reports.
An F/A-18 fighter jet was tracked by Flightradar24 as it flew over the waters north of Venezuela for about half an hour, as reported by the Associated Press. A U.S. defense official, who requested anonymity, referred to the mission as a “routine training flight” intended to showcase the aircraft’s operational capabilities.
Interestingly, the official did not clarify whether the jets were armed, but emphasized that everything occurred within international airspace. This mission follows a period of intensified U.S. military activity in the area.
Previously, the U.S. had sent B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers along the Venezuelan coastline, but it seems these aircraft didn’t get quite as close as the F/A-18s did on this occasion.
The ramp-up in military presence began after the U.S. targeted suspected drug-smuggling vessels in both the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Reports about U.S. operations against ships thought to be leaving Venezuela with drugs first emerged in September. While the Trump administration has claimed that these operations are crucial for tackling illegal drug trafficking, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has consistently denied these allegations.
Tensions surrounding Venezuelan airspace escalated in November when President Trump instructed airlines to treat that area as effectively closed, coinciding with a warning from the FAA about commercial airline operations there.
Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, who is connected with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated that the most substantial military threats from Venezuela stem from its air and naval forces. Isaias Medina, an international lawyer and former Venezuelan diplomat, suggested that Venezuela’s military capabilities, while impressive in theory, do not hold up as well in practice. He mentioned their fighter jets, a limited number of surface ships, and Russian surface-to-air missiles. Montgomery confidently asserted that the U.S. could reasonably neutralize air and sea threats to its forces within the first couple of days of operational planning.
