US B-52s and Helicopters Fly Near Venezuela

The U.S. military’s elite Special Operations aviation unit appears to have flown in Caribbean waters less than 90 miles from the coast of Venezuela in recent days, according to a visual analysis by The Washington Post.

The helicopters were engaged in training exercises, according to a U.S. official, that could serve as preparation for expanded conflict against alleged drug traffickers, including potentially missions inside Venezuela.

The U.S. military has struck at least five boats allegedly carrying illegal narcotics in international waters, killing at least 27 people, according to U.S. officials, the last one occurring on Tuesday. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct missions inside the country.

The U.S. has declared it is in “armed conflict” with drug traffickers, though lawmakers and legal experts have said the strikes are unlawful killings of people who are suspected criminals and not battlefield combatants.

Visuals that circulated on social media in early October appeared to show MH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters and MH-60 Black Hawks over open water near oil and gas platforms. A visual analysis of the platforms and visible terrain indicates the helicopters were flying off Trinidad’s northeast coast, bringing them within 90 miles of several points along Venezuela’s coastline.

The aircraft are likely operated by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The unit flies missions for commandos like Navy SEALs, Green Berets and Delta Force, and has gained renown for undertaking complex and dangerous operations such as the raid to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

The inclusion of Little Birds — small attack aircraft designed to insert operators onto the ground and provide close air support — suggests preparations for potential missions that could see U.S. boots on the ground, Cancian said.

The Black Hawks could be used in support, he added, carrying additional troops, combat search-and-rescue or other capabilities.

The helicopters were conducting training flights to keep proficient and provide options for Trump and the Pentagon in the ongoing missions in the region, a U.S. official said. The flights should not be taken as evidence of drills for a land assault into Venezuela, the official cautioned, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.

The Pentagon did not address questions about the operations. “The Department will not respond to speculation about military operations based on analysis by ‘experts,’” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said.

The MV Ocean Trader, a commercial vessel reconfigured into a stealthy floating Special Operations base, appears to have recently operated in the Caribbean and may have some relationship to the aircraft, experts said.

The ship can carry about 200 personnel, about 150 of whom are dedicated to special missions, said Bradley Martin, a senior policy researcher at the Rand Corporation and former Navy surface warfare captain. It can hold multiple aircraft, Martin said, including potentially the numerous helicopters shown in the video. It also can provide refueling and maintenance services, he said.

Satellite imagery from Sept. 25 showed a ship matching the length and visual composition of the MV Ocean Trader docked at St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. On Oct. 6, satellite imagery appeared to show the same ship operating in the Caribbean just over 40 miles east of Trinidad — within a few dozen miles from where the helicopters were filmed.

About a tenth of all deployed U.S. naval power is in the region, a “seismic” reordering of assets, analysts have said, including a submarine, a fleet of destroyers and F-35 fighters mobilized in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. also dispatched numerous C-17 Globemaster large transportation aircraft to St. Croix in recent weeks, according to flight records, including flights that landed while the Ocean Trader was in port there. Those flights showed departures from various U.S. bases, including Fort Campbell in Kentucky, where 160th is headquartered and keeps its Little Birds, according to the Army.

Venezuela has robust air-defense systems, which could pose a threat to U.S. aircraft.

Caracas uses Russian-made systems, including long-range S-300 missile launchers and other weapons that are difficult to track because they can be easily moved, Cancian said. Such systems do not pose much of a threat to U.S. helicopters when they are operating in the sea, he said. But short-range shoulder-launched weapons like the SA-24 — which can detect heat signatures from helicopter turbine engines — and the country’s fleet of antiaircraft guns are particularly vexing should the aircraft cross into Venezuelan overland territory.

“These are arguably the most dangerous because they are so hard to find and could ambush helicopters passing overhead,” Cancian said.

A bipartisan measure to block the Trump administration’s lethal strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers fell short in the Senate last week, a failure of lawmakers to assert their constitutional role in deciding if and how the U.S. enters a war.

Military officials in multiple classified briefings have not definitively identified the victims or explained why the military is using deadly force rather than the long-standing protocol of interdicting vessels at sea, Democratic lawmakers have said.