On Thursday, the U.S. Alaskan Command said that it conducted a maritime operation on October 16 in the Bering Sea along the Aleutian island chain with the U.S. Coast Guard national security cutter USCGC Kimball and two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a report on the United States sending B-1 bombers near Venezuela to increase military pressure was false. "No, its false," Trump told reporters when asked about the report. Trump added Washington was "very unhappy with 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.

President Donald Trump denied a report published Thursday by the The Wall Street Journal that U.S. B-1 bombers were sent near Venezuela as tensions escalate with the nation led by President Nicolás Maduro.

Experts call it "21st-century gunboat diplomacy" as U.S. positions strike-capable forces in Caribbean amid tensions with Maduro regime and cartels.

B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., conducted an attack demonstration off the coast of Venezuela.

The U.S. military deploys some of its most capable forces across the western Pacific, including F-35 stealth fighter jets and nuclear-powered submarines. It also has been rotating its bombers, including those that can conduct nuclear strikes, in the region.