Another US B-52 bomber conducted a flight near Venezuela's coastline earlier this week, according to flight-tracking data, continuing a pattern of regular bomber activity amid threated regime change action targeting President Nicolás Maduro.

These flights have occurred at a rate of about once a week for over a month, and are meant as a very public threat and warning, given the bombers which often fly from bases deep within the continental United States intentionally keep their transponders on so they can be tracked. 

According to the latest reports, in this fresh flight that occurred Monday two B-52s departed from Minot Air Force Base, with one returning to base while the other proceeded toward the Caribbean, flying close to Venezuela’s northern coast near Caracas.

The bomber was additionally escorted by US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets. The last known flight prior to this was on November 20. That one was notably as it was accompanied by F/A-18s launched from the USS Gerald Ford, which just this month began patrolling the Caribbean Sea. 

There's been a lot of speculation of late over just what President Trump intends to do with the unprecedented US military build-up in the Caribbean.

There's concern that he is preparing to launch imminent military action against the Maduro government, but the White House has also signaled that last minute-diplomacy could still ensure peace, and there are unverified claims that Presidents Trump and Maduro may speak by phone.

Previously the Wall Street Journal commented on how rare the B-52 bomber flights are in prior history in the region:

The U.S. has seldom flown bombers near South America in recent decades, usually carrying out just one planned training mission a year. But more missions involving bombers could be carried out soon, according to two defense officials. 

Thursday’s flights signal “seriousness and intent,” said David Deptula, a retired Air Force general and Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, an aerospace think tank. “You’re bringing an enormous set of capabilities…endurance, payload, range and precision,” he said.

The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) had earlier this month described its first bomber flights near Venezuela as a "bomber attack demonstration mission" in skies over the southern Caribbean.

It could be a 'dry run' for imminent war, or else major attacks on cartels. Also widely reported this week is the potential start of US covert action in Venezuela.