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US B-1B bombers fly near the Venezuelan coast amid recent ‘anti-drug campaign’
The flight of the long-range supersonic bombers comes as the Donald Trump administration carries out a campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the region.
In another show of strength by the Donald Trump administration, a pair of B-1B bombers flew over the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela on Monday, flight tracking data showed.
Monday's flights are the third such show of force by US military aircraft in recent weeks. The flight of the long-range supersonic bombers comes as Washington carries out a military campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the region, deploying forces that Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro government alleged are to change the regime in Caracas.
Data from the tracking website Flightradar24 showed the two bombers, which took off from a base in the northern US state of North Dakota, flying parallel to the Venezuelan coast before disappearing from view.
That followed another flight near Venezuela by at least one B-1B last week, and another by multiple B-52 bombers the week before.
The US attacks on Venezuelan vessels
The United States has deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to Latin America. Washington has also deployed 10 F-35 stealth warplanes to Puerto Rico and currently has seven US Navy ships in the Caribbean as part of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts.
The United States forces have carried out strikes on at least 10 alleged drug-smuggling vessels -- nine boats and a semi-submersible -- since early September, killing at least 43 people, according to a tally compiled by the news agency AFP based on figures given by the US.
But the Donald Trump administration has yet to release evidence that the vessels targeted by its forces were indeed used to smuggle drugs.
Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign and the accompanying military buildup, with Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who has accused Washington of "fabricating a war."
The US and Trinidad and Tobago are also conducting naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea, another point of contention between Washington and Caracas.
