Two fighter planes of the United States Air Force flew this Tuesday over the Gulf of Venezuelain another gesture of pressure from Washington in the area, while President Donald Trump declared that Nicolás Maduro’s days in power “are numbered.”
The overflight, recorded by the Flightradar24 tracking service, occurred around noon in an area about 160 kilometers northeast of Maracaibo, the second most populated city in Venezuela. detailed the Spanish agency EFE.
The fighters, identified as F-18 of the F variant – two-seater – performed corkscrew maneuvers before heading north, towards a point near Aruba, where the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the largest and most sophisticated in the US fleet, is presumed to be located.
Reports about this Tuesday’s flight confirm what happened as a violation of Venezuelan airspace, although Caracas had not commented on the matter. Others, citing a US official, report that the aircraft “remained in international airspace during their flight,” something that radar systems deny.
According to an agency dispatch APthe official cited said that it was a “routine training flight” and that the maneuver was not intended to be provocative. However, the report itself states that the planes spent more than 30 minutes flying over the waters of the Gulf, which reflects the seriousness of the movement.
| Two US fighter planes flew over Venezuelan airspace for 40 minutes. https://t.co/0fRw19cJH6
— World in Conflict (@MundoEConflicto) December 10, 2025
Operation Southern Lance
The air raid is part of Operation Southern Lance, deployed by Washington since the end of summer with some 15,000 troops in waters near Venezuela. The Pentagon maintains that it is a campaign against international drug trafficking, but Caracas denounces that it is a covert plan to force a change of government.
The deployment includes destroyers, a nuclear submarine, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and more than 4,000 Marines, which constitutes the largest US military movement in the Caribbean in decades.
The intrusion of the F-18s occurred despite the risk that Venezuela would use its Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries. The Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, assured that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) is prepared to respond “with dignity” to any aggression.
“We have the determination to fight, to fight, to battle for our freedom, reinforced with weapons and with moral conscience,” Padrino said this Tuesday at an event commemorating the Battle of Ayacucho.
Trump plays with uncertainty
In parallel, President Donald Trump stated in an interview with the American media Political that Maduro’s days are “numbered” and he avoided ruling out a ground intervention.
“I don’t want to confirm it or rule it out. I don’t want to talk about it,” he responded when asked about the possibility of sending US troops to Venezuelan territory.
Trump has said that attacks against drug trafficking within Venezuela would begin “soon,” reinforcing the perception that Washington is preparing actions beyond the Caribbean.
This Tuesday, the Venezuelan government’s chief negotiator, Jorge Rodríguez, assured that Venezuela will defend itself “with absolute certainty” against any aggression by land, sky or sea.
“We are people of peace, but rest assured that if aggression dares to enter the sacred territory of Venezuela, we will fight,” Rodríguez said in the People’s Assembly broadcast on state television.
Maduro, for his part, stated that he has more than 200,000 soldiers and the Bolivarian Militia, which according to official figures exceeds eight million members, to face any scenario.
Support from Moscow and questions in the US
In parallel, the Venezuelan Government thanked the support of Russia, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “concern” about the threats from the United States.
Spokesperson Maria Zajárova warned that a large-scale conflict in the Western Hemisphere would have unpredictable consequences.
Foreign Minister Yván Gil described the statement as a “firm rejection” of US interventionism and highlighted the importance of the alliance with Moscow in the midst of the crisis that especially affects air transport, after the suspension by a group of airlines of their operations in Venezuela.
In recent months, the US Southern Command has carried out more than 25 attacks against vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, leaving more than 80 dead.
The Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and other politicians have especially demanded transparency about an operation last September in which, according to complaints, US soldiers finished off survivors of an alleged drug boat.
According to the influential newspaper The New York Timesthe Trump Administration’s argument that the United States is in an armed conflict with the cartels and its use of the same to justify attacks, is rejected not only by Trump’s political rivals but also by jurists and international law experts.
“The army cannot attack civilians who do not pose an imminent threat of violence, even if they are suspected of committing crimes,” said the Times.
In November, a telephone conversation between Trump and Maduro, described as cordial by sources consulted by Washington Postfailed to reduce bilateral tension.
Washington maintains accusations against Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials of leading the Cartel of the Suns, while Caracas insists that it is a political pressure campaign and that such a drug entity only lives in the imagination of the White House and the Pentagon.
