U.S. F/A-18s Conduct Routine Training Flight Over Gulf of Venezuela Amid Regional Tensions

The U.S. military flew two F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday in what trackers and officials described as a routine training flight that remained in international airspace. Public flight-tracking sites showed the jets spending more than 30 minutes over the Gulf, a body of water bordered by Venezuela and roughly 150 miles across at its widest point.

Flight Details

Public trackers including Flightradar24 recorded the pair of U.S. Navy F/A-18s as among the most-watched flights on their platforms while airborne. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the operations are sensitive, confirmed the mission and described it as a routine training sortie. The official would not say whether the jets were armed but emphasized they stayed in international airspace during the flight.

How Officials Framed the Mission

The defense official likened the flight to previous exercises intended to demonstrate the operational reach of U.S. aircraft and said the maneuver was not meant to be provocative. Earlier U.S. deployments to the region have included long-range bomber flights — such as B-52 and B-1 sorties — that flew along Venezuela’s coast, though public records showed those missions did not appear to approach Venezuelan territory as closely as this week’s F/A-18 flight.

Regional Context and Controversy

The training flight comes as the United States has built up its largest military presence in the region in decades and carried out a campaign of strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. Those strikes have drawn intense scrutiny: lawmakers say at least 87 people have been killed in 22 known strikes since early September, and some members of Congress are demanding release of unedited strike footage.

Defense leadership has provided classified briefings to congressional leaders about the campaign while officials weigh whether to release additional material publicly. Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, has also spoken with Senate Armed Services Committee leaders as he prepares to leave his post.

Political Reactions

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has condemned the U.S. operations, asserting they are intended to pressure him politically. U.S. officials and supporters of the campaign say the actions are intended to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. The legal status of the Gulf has been disputed for decades: Venezuela claims the waters as part of its national territory, while U.S. legal experts and military sources have long challenged that claim.

Bottom line: The F/A-18 flight was publicly visible, brief, and described by officials as routine, but it occurred against the backdrop of a broader U.S. military buildup and a controversial strike campaign that has prompted congressional oversight and debate.