U.S. Sends B-1 Bombers Near Venezuela, Ramping Up Military Pressure
The flights signal possible widening of U.S. campaign against cartels and alleged drug traffickers
The U.S. flew Air Force B-1 bombers near Venezuela on Thursday, stepping up pressure on President Nicolás Maduro only days after other American warplanes carried out an “attack demonstration” near the South American country.
Two B-1 Lancers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew near Venezuela, though they remained in international airspace, according to a U.S. official and flight tracking data.
The B-1 can fly at supersonic speeds and carry 75,000 lbs. of bombs, more than other U.S. bombers. They can also conduct maritime surveillance. The aircraft haven’t been moved to bases in the region, as they have the range to reach anywhere in the Caribbean from the U.S., according to a defense official.
Last week, the Air Force and Marines conducted a similar show of force with B-52 bombers and F-35B jet fighters near an island off the coast of Venezuela where its military held training exercises in September. The bombers circled the area before returning to the U.S., according to flight tracking data. The Pentagon described the flights as an “attack demonstration.”
After this article was published, President Trump told reporters at the White House it was “not accurate.”
The bomber flights are part of a broad military ramp-up, which includes eight warships, a submarine, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and an F-35 fighter squadron now in the region.
The U.S. has seldom flown bombers near South America in recent decades, usually carrying out just one planned training mission a year. But more missions involving bombers could be carried out soon, according to two defense officials.
Thursday’s flights signal “seriousness and intent,” said David Deptula, a retired Air Force general and dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, an aerospace think tank. “You’re bringing an enormous set of capabilities…endurance, payload, range and precision,” he said.
The widening of the military campaign has focused on countering alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela and Colombia. After carrying out at least seven strikes on go-fast boats and a submersible in the Caribbean since early September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the U.S. had attacked two vessels in the eastern Pacific this week.
Trump has suggested that striking targets on land could come next. “There are few boats traveling on the water, so now they’ll come in by land to a lesser extent, and they will be hit on land also,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House.
Bombers could be used to hit narcotics distribution or production facilities, according to current and former Air Force officials.
The administration has faced growing bipartisan scrutiny about the legal basis for strikes carried out in recent weeks, though the Republican-controlled Congress has rejected measures to limit the president’s power to continue the attacks.
Asked whether Trump would need authorization from Congress to conduct strikes on land, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said Thursday, “I’m not sure I know the answer to that.”
Maduro has accused Trump of seeking regime change and has positioned troops along the coast, bracing for a potential attack. Trump has also accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of aiding drug smugglers, while Petro has said his American counterpart is committing atrocities by ordering strikes on boats.