The flyover — carried out despite the Venezuelan regime’s possession of a number of Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries — took place less than 160km northeast of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city.
Thousands of Venezuelans tracked the aircraft online through specialised tracking websites.
The fighters remained inside Venezuelan airspace for at least 40 minutes at an altitude of about 7600m before heading north and leaving the area.
They flew between two key regions for Venezuela’s energy sector, Zulia and Falcon states.
Lake Maracaibo, whose 8050sq km make it one of the largest bodies of freshwater on the continent, is the cradle of reserves of about 150 billion barrels of crude oil.
The flight trails left by the US fighter planes show them flying at the northern top of Lake Maracaibo, and over the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela, right between the cities La Guajira, in Zulia, and Coro, the capital of Falcon, according to flight applications such as FlightRadar24.
The US display comes as Washington continues to build its military presence in the Caribbean, heightening tensions with Caracas.
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has accused the Trump administration of preparing "acts of aggression" under the cover of counter-narcotics operations.
Venezuela has responded to what analysts describe as the largest US deployment in the region in decades by declaring a state of emergency, activating its armed forces and Bolivarian militias, and showcasing what security experts say is one of Latin America’s most layered — though unevenly functioning — air defence networks.
While it is not known where the fighter jets came from, USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, is in the area and is capable of carrying dozens of F8E/F Super Hornet fighters.
As part of Operation Southern Spear, the US has placed about 15,000 to 16,000 US troops near Venezuelan waters.
Washington maintains the mission is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.
Caracas insists it is a prelude to regime change.
The area overflown by the US jets yesterday is particularly important for fishing and the waters are also crossed by oil tankers that load and unload crude oil at the refineries in Zulia and Falcon. — TCA
