The US military flew B-1 supersonic bombers to the coast of Venezuela

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic heavy bombers to the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, just over a week after another group of U.S. bombers made a similar trip as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack.

AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos

Adding to the speculation, since early September the US military has been carrying out deadly attacks on vessels in waters off Venezuela that Trump claims are trafficking drugs.

According to flight tracking data, a pair of B-1 Lancer bombers took off Thursday from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew across the Caribbean to the coast of Venezuela. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that a B-1 training flight took place in the Caribbean.

The B-1 bomber can carry more bombs than any other aircraft in the US inventory.

Senior Airman Jacob Skovo/U.S. Air Force via AP

A similar flight of slower B-52 Stratofortress bombers took place in the region last week. The bombers were joined by Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets (one squadron is currently based in Puerto Rico) for what the Pentagon called a “bomber strike demonstration” in online photos.

When Trump was asked about Thursday’s B-1 flight and whether it was aimed at increasing military pressure on Venezuela, he said, “it’s false, but we’re not happy with Venezuela for many reasons. Drugs are one of them.”

The US force in the Caribbean includes eight warships, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and a squadron of F-35 fighters. A submarine has also been confirmed operating in waters off South America.

Trump said Wednesday that he has the “legal authority” to carry out attacks on suspected drug ships and suggested similar attacks could be carried out on land.

“We will hit them very hard when they come overland,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re fully prepared to do that. And we’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re going to do when we get to the country.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the military had carried out its ninth strike, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It came after an attack on Tuesday night, also in the eastern Pacific, that killed two people and raised the total death toll from the attacks to at least 37.

“Our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is that we will treat them as we have treated Al Qaeda,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the White House.

“We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down and we will kill you,” he added.