At least one US B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela Thursday, flight tracking data showed, the second such show of force by US military aircraft in a week.Data from tracking website Flightradar24 showed a B-1B flying toward the Venezuelan coast on Thursday afternoon before making a U-turn and heading north,

The Boeing B-52s left Barksdale Air Force Base at Shreveport in the state of Louisiana, flight tracking data reviewed by BBC Verify shows. A US Global Strike Command spokesperson confirmed to the BBC’s US news partner CBS that the three aircraft have flown missions near Venezuela.

The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea. The Navy has eight warships in the region.

The long-range B-1 bombers can carry up to 75,000 pounds of guided and unguided munitions, the largest nonnuclear payload of any aircraft in the Air Force arsenal.

The B-1 Lancers join at least eight US Navy warships and a submarine known to be operating near Venezuela—as well as previous flights from F-35 fighters and B-52 Stratofortress bombers.

Visible 'wrinkles' on the fuselage of a B-52 bomber are nothing new, and while it might look worrying, this phenomenon forms as a result of aircraft design.

Tension has been ratcheting up between the US and Venezuela in recent weeks over the Trump administration carrying out strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. Now, there are reports that two US Air Force B-1 bombers conducted a training mission off the coast of Venezuela.

The flights come amid a string of US strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and a growing American military buildup around Venezuela.