DONALD Trump’s menacing B-52s flew alongside Marine Corps F-35s in a daring “bomber attack demo” near Venezuela.
The revelation comes amid soaring tensions between the US president and his Venezuelan counterpart – with Trump warning Maduro to not “f**k around”.
In Trump’s latest show of force last week, three American B-52H Stratofortress bombers circled near Venezuelan airspace for two hours.
The trio, with callsigns BUNNY01, BUNNY02, and BUNNY03, departed Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana before heading south towards Venuzeula.
It has now been revealed they were accompanied by F-35B fighters from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225, according to the 2nd Bomb Wing.
The unit said: “Bomber Attack Demonstrations contribute to the collective defense of the Western Hemisphere and demonstrate the US commitment to the safety and security of the region.”
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The F-35s were also armed with destructive AIM-9 Sidewinder weapons.
Meanwhile, the B-52s had no externally mounted arms.
The unprecedented mission marked the first time authorities have used the term “bomber attack demo”.
It comes after Trump said on Friday Maduro doesn’t want to “f**k around” with the US.
He made the bold claim when asked about Maduro’s natural resources offer to the US which would have seen Caracas give up its oil and minerals in return for a truce.
His comments also came after the latest Venezuelan vessel blitz last week.
On Friday, Trump blasted a drug-filled vessel and killed three “narco-terrorists”.
One day before, the US bombed another drug-running submarine.
Two survivors were taken by authorities, before being released later on – marking the first time in Trump’s war on drug boats that the US has taken prisoners.
The Don said it was his “great honor” to destroy a drug-smuggling “submarine” with “four known narcoterrorists on board” – two of which were killed.
The strikes are the latest attacks in a campaign declared by Trump against a “narcoterrorist” threat he says is coming from Venezuela and is linked to Maduro.
Trump this week also announced he would deploy 10,000 US troops, nuclear-capable bombers, and America’s most elite special operations unit — the “Night Stalkers” — to the waters off Venezuela.
He is taking the fight to the all-powerful drug cartels, who he claims are backed by Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro.
The Caribbean is now bracing for its most explosive showdown in decades as Maduro whips his country into a war footing and vows to repel any US attack.
Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro has sent a stern response to Washington as he fumed the US wants to oust him and install a “puppet government”.
Maduro stared down Donald Trump’s declaration of war against the cartels, which the President insists are “poisoning” Americans with fentanyl and other drugs.
Venezuelan civilians have been urged to “take up arms” against the US amid the recent wave of strikes on drug trafficking cartels.
Maduro has moved thousands of troops to the border with Colombia “to ensure peace” – which some suggest is a warning shot to Trump.
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The first day of Trump’s second term kicked off with the designation of narcotraffickers as terrorists – giving him the right to kill them before they can reach American shores.
This is the argument he has used in the face of law experts warning that his decision to strike a suspected drug-smuggling boat on Tuesday was illegal.
Washington-watchers claim that the gangsters should have been arrested – but the White House says that law enforcement is ineffective.
Trump vowed after the blitz: “There’s more where that came from.”
The US President has long spoken of his desire to enact force to take on drug cartels, which he accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of actively backing.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and the last few months have seen teetering escalations deteriorate into a tense standoff.
The US has positioned naval destroyers and soldiers around Maduro’s waters, while the Venezuelan dictator has ordered mass mobilisation of troops
And the ruler has called on Venezuelans to enlist in militias to “fight the empire”.
Trump has accused tyrannical Maduro of being in bed with the “terrorist” narco-cartels – and he has given himself the right to eliminate their members without trial.
Reports say the US is gearing up to seize ports and airfields in Venezuela.
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Furious Maduro complained on Friday that America is perpetrating “an armed aggression to impose regime change” and “puppet governments”.
He previously said the US has “1,200 missiles pointed at our heads. They have a nuclear submarine.”