WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic, heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, a little over a week after another group of American bombers made a similar journey as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack.

The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off of Venezuela, raising speculation that President Donald Trump could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro. Maduro faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

Adding to the speculation, the U.S. military since early September has been carrying out lethal strikes on vessels in the waters off Venezuela that Trump says are trafficking drugs.

According to flight tracking data, a pair of B-1 Lancer bombers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew through the Caribbean and up to the coast of Venezuela. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that a training flight of B-1s took place in the Caribbean.

The B-1 bomber can carry more bombs than any other plane in the U.S. inventory.

A similar flight of slower B-52 Stratofortress bombers was conducted in the region last week. The bombers were joined by Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets a squadron is currently based in Puerto Rico for what the Pentagon called a bomber attack demo in photos online .

When Trump was asked about Thursdays B-1 flight and if it was meant to ramp up military pressure on Venezuela, he said, its false, but were not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons. Drugs being one of them.

The U.S. force in the Caribbean includes eight warships, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and an F-35 fighter squadron. A submarine has also been confirmed to be operating in the waters off South America.

Trump on Wednesday said he has the legal authority to carry out the strikes on the alleged drug-carrying boats and suggested similar strikes could be done on land.

We will hit them very hard when they come in by land, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Were totally prepared to do that. And well probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what were doing when we come to the land.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the military had conducted its ninth strike, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It followed a strike Tuesday night, also in the eastern Pacific, that killed two people and brought the overall death toll from the strikes to at least 37.

The latest pair of strikes expanded the Trump administrations campaign against drug trafficking in South America from the waters of the Caribbean to the eastern Pacific.

Hegseth has drawn a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administrations crackdown.

Our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated al-Qaeda, Hegseth told reporters on Thursday at the White House.

We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down, and we will kill you, he added.

华盛顿（好意思联社）——好意思国军方于周四叮嘱两架超音速重型轰炸机飞抵委内瑞拉海岸，这次行径距离另一组好意思军轰炸机实践肖似模拟报复试验任务仅隔一周多余。

好意思国军方在加勒比海及委内瑞拉隔邻海域非常聚首遍及军力，激励外界料想唐纳德·特朗普总统可能试图推翻委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗政权。马杜罗现在在好意思国濒临毒品恐怖目的的指控。

更激励料想的是，自9月初以来，好意思国军方一直在对委内瑞拉隔邻海域的船只实施致命打击，特朗普称这些船只涉嫌贩运毒品。

飘舞跟踪数据走漏，两架B-1"枪马队"轰炸机于周四从德克萨斯州的戴斯空军基地升起，穿越加勒比海并飞抵委内瑞拉海岸隔邻。一位条款匿名考虑明锐军事行径的好意思国官员阐发，B-1轰炸机在加勒比海域进行了试验飘舞。

B-1轰炸机的载弹量跳跃好意思军现役任何其他机型。

上周，该地区曾实践过一次肖似的B-52同温层堡垒轰炸机低速飘舞任务。这些轰炸机与舟师陆战队的F-35B隐形构兵机（该中队现在督察在波多黎各）协同业动，五角大楼在发布的相片中称这次行径为“轰炸机报复演示”。

当特朗普被问及周四的B-1轰炸机飘舞是否意在加大对委内瑞拉的军事压力时，他表现：“这是诞妄的，但咱们出于诸多原因对委内瑞拉不悦，毒品问题等于其中之一。”

好意思国在加勒比海地区的军事力量包括8艘艨艟、P-8海上巡逻机、MQ-9"死神"无东说念主机以及一个F-35构兵机中队。另有一艘潜艇已被阐发正在南好意思洲隔邻海域步履。

特朗普周三表现，他领有对涉嫌运毒船只实施打击的“法律授权”，并表现肖似的打击行径也可能在陆地上伸开。

特朗普在卵形办公室对记者表现：“当他们从陆路参预时，咱们将给以严厉打击。咱们已作念好充分准备。届时咱们可能会再次向国会评释咱们的具体行径。”

国防部长皮特·赫格塞念念周三表现，军方已实施第九次打击，在太平洋东部海域形成三东说念主弃世。此前周二晚间在祛除区域发动的紧迫导致两东说念主丧生，使得这系列军事行径的总弃世东说念主数升至至少37东说念主。

最新发动的两次打击行径，将特朗普政府打击南好意思洲毒品贩运的行径规模从加勒比海域推广至东太平洋地区。

赫格塞念念将好意思国在2001年9·11紧迫后发起的反恐干戈与特朗普政府的打击行径进行了径直对比。

赫格塞特周四在白宫对记者表现：“咱们向这些番邦恐怖组织传达的信息是，咱们将像对待基地组织雷同对待你们。”

他补充说念：“咱们会找到你尊龙体育网，咱们会摸清你的汇注，咱们会追捕你，咱们会干掉你。”