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. 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.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)