US Flies Two Fighter Jets Deep Into Gulf of Venezuela in Closest Approach to Country’s Coast

Two US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets were spotted by flight trackers on Tuesday flying deep inside the Gulf of Venezuela, a body of water surrounded by Venezuelan territory on three sides, marking the latest US provocation amid threats of a potential regime change war aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The flight appears to be the closest US aircraft has gotten to Venezuela’s coast since the US military began its major buildup in the Caribbean a few months ago. Since October, US bombers have regularly flown to the north of Venezuela’s coast, and F/A-18s have begun flights near the country since the USS Gerald Ford, the US’s largest aircraft carrier, arrived in the Caribbean last month.