Two U.S. F-18 fighter jets flying in tandem entered Venezuelan airspace around noon Tuesday, circling over the Gulf of Venezuela in the latest show of force against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

The flyover — carried out despite the Venezuelan regime’s possession of a number of Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries — took place less than 100 miles northeast of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city. Thousands of Venezuelans tracked the aircraft online through specialized tracking websites, watching as the jets traced a bow-tie-shaped pattern over the gulf.

The fighters remained inside Venezuelan airspace for at least 40 minutes at an altitude of roughly 25,000 feet before heading north and leaving the area.

The U.S. fighter jets flew between two key regions for Venezuela’s energy sector, Zulia and Falcon states. Lake Maracaibo, whose 5,000 square miles make it of the largest fresh bodies of water on the continent, is the cradle of reserves of some 150 billion barrels of crude oil.

The flight trails left by U.S. fighter planes, according to flight applications such as FlightRadar24, show them flying at the northern top of Lake of Maracaibo, over the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela, right between the cities of La Guajira, in Zulia, and Coro, the capital of Falcón.

The U.S. display comes as Washington continues to build its military presence in the Caribbean, heightening tensions with Caracas. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has accused the Trump administration of preparing “acts of aggression” under the cover of counternarcotics operations.

Venezuela has responded to what analysts describe as the largest U.S. 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 defense networks.

At the center of that system are Russian-built S-300VM long-range missile batteries, believed to be deployed in three battalions protecting Caracas and key industrial corridors.

While it is not known where the fighter jets came from, the 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 U.S. has placed an estimated 15,000 to 16,000 U.S. troops near Venezuelan waters. Washington maintains the mission is aimed at curbing narcotrafficking. Caracas insists it is a prelude to regime change.

The area overflown by the U.S. jets on Tuesday 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 Falcón.

Zulia, one of the most populous states in Venezuela, shares a border with Colombia. Falcón, in the northwestern part of Venezuela, is home to the crude refineries of Amuay and Cardón, key for the domestic fuel market and the nation’s hydrocarbon sector.

The city of Maracaibo is home to one of the main military air bases in western Venezuela, the Rafael Urdaneta Air Base.

On its social networks, the air based had announced Monday that the general commander of the Venezuelan Air Force visited its facilities to inaugurate a dining room and dormitories, an act that was attended by civil authorities, including Zulia Gov. Luis Caldera, a supporter of Maduro’s government.

The Venezuelan Air Force reported last Friday that it had intercepted a “hostile” aircraft that entered the airspace of the state of Apure, about 259 miles from the capital Caracas, which had its transponder turned off, did not present a flight plan and was forced to land by three Venezuelan F16 fighters.

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(A Miami Herald correspondent in Venezuela contributed to this story.)

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