US military flies 2 fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela as scrutiny grows [View all]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday in what appears to be the closest American warplanes have come to the South American country’s airspace since the start of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign.

Public flight tracking websites showed a pair of U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets fly over the Gulf — a body of water bounded by Venezuela and only about 150 miles at its widest point — and spend more than 30 minutes flying over water. A U.S. defense official confirmed that a pair of jets conducted a “routine training flight” in the area.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, could not say if the jets were armed but noted that they stayed in international airspace during their flight.

The official likened the training flight to previous exercises that were aimed at showing the reach of U.S. planes and said the move was not meant to be provocative.

https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-military-trump-fa18-fighter-jets-06fd7cdc5ac26e7a46165431b95508b0