Photo courtesy of James St. John. Nose of a B-1B Lancer bomber at a South Dakota air museum. The B-1 costs $91,330 per hour to fly.

The January 3 invasion and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro and First Lady Cilian Flores involved more than 150 aircraft launched from 20 U.S. military bases. The consequences are dire - the U.S. is apparently now attempting to rule over a sovereign country, in a move of blatant imperialism that should be left to the past. The U.S.invasion killed untold numbers of civilians, and sent a dangerous signal to other imperialist regimes around the world. 

And of course, U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill. 

As a first look at the cost of this invasion, here are just three of the types of aircraft reported to have been part of the invasion:

• B-1B Lancers - Each of these bombers costs $91,330 per hour to operate. That’s about three times the average salary for a food service worker in the United States.
• F-22A Raptors - These fighters can also drop bombs, and each one costs $56,511 per hour to operate. That’s more than twice the average annual housing costs (including rent or mortgage, utilities, and other costs) for people and families in the United States in 2024.
• MH-47G Chinook - Each of these military helicopters costs $9,663 per hour to operate. That’s nearly the average food budget for American people and families in 2024. 

Remember, there were at least 150 aircraft that participated in this operation - and untold hours of practice drills before that. And that’s still just aircraft operations. The involvement of special forces, naval resources, and munitions add much more to the invasion’s costs.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have tried to downplay the costs of this invasion - Hegseth by refusing to answer reporters’ questions about it, and Rubio through a bizarre lie, saying the invasion cost nothing. 

All told, this Administration’s priorities are clear: the MAGA regime has cut critical services for families while spending untold millions on imperialist wars for oil to further enrich billionaires, corporations, and Pentagon contractors – all while unleashing a militarized force against working people at home.