At the moment, an official position from the Venezuelan authorities regarding the flight carried out by the bombers is not known.
On October 2, Venezuela’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López, reported that five North American combat planes crossed the Maiquetía Flight Information Region (FIR), very close to Venezuelan airspace.
“This indicates that the combat planes of North American imperialism have dared to approach the Venezuelan coast (…) I want you to know that they do not intimidate us. It is rude, a provocation and a threat to the security of the nation [venezuelana]”he stated during a review of operations by the Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, broadcast on Venezuelan state television.
He explained that the Venezuelan Air Force radars detected at least five North American combat aircraft near his country and that the Integrated Air Defense System identified more than five aircraft with flight patterns of 400 knots and at an altitude of 35 thousand feet.
Tensions between Venezuela and the USA increased in August, after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered the sending of warships to the Caribbean, to international waters close to the South American country, citing the fight against drug cartels in Latin America.
The US announced that it had already attacked five boats transporting drugs, killing at least 13 “narco-terrorists”, saying they were members of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan cartel established in several countries and classified as a terrorist organization by the US President.
The United States accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading the Sun Cartel of drug trafficking and recently increased the reward for information leading to his capture to 50 million dollars (around 43 million euros).
Maduro denounced the US military presence along the Venezuelan coast and denied any connection with drug trafficking.
On September 29, Venezuela announced that President Nicolás Maduro signed a “decree of state of external commotion” (state of emergency) in response to US threats.