Buenos Aires, December 9 (NA) -- Two U.S. fighter jets flew over Venezuelan airspace on Tuesday amid growing tension between the two countries, due to the alleged ties of the Caracas government with drug trafficking groups. According to the Flightradar24 website, the American F-18 Super Hornet fighters entered Venezuelan territory for about 40 minutes without authorization, which would have allowed the South American country's forces to respond with military force. As learned by the Noticias Argentinas agency, the flight occurred in a Gulf area about 160 kilometers northeast of Maracaibo, Venezuela's second most populous city. In turn, the U.S. Department of Defense describes the F-18 as a 'multi-mission aircraft capable of executing air-to-air and air-to-surface operations,' prepared to integrate guided missiles and precision weaponry. This model is the main fighter of the U.S. naval aviation and performs combat missions, patrol, close air support, and escort from the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford. Likewise, U.S. Navy authorities indicated that the operational deployment is aligned with the tasks assigned to the aircraft carrier and its strike group, which has been located for several weeks in the vicinity of the Venezuelan coasts. This episode occurred amid Washington's accusations against Nicolás Maduro and other members of his government for leading the 'Cartel of the Suns,' a criminal organization whose existence was confirmed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Meanwhile, in Caracas, they insist that the deployment is nothing more than a pressure campaign to force Maduro out of the Caribbean country.
