DOD Calls Out ‘Highly Provocative’ Move by Venezuela

“[T]oday, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations. The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military,” the statement read.

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— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) September 5, 2025

This comes two days after the U.S. attacked a boat where Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua was drug-smuggling in the Caribbean Sea. The attack killed 11 narco-terrorists.

CBS News reported that the Venezuelan aircraft were allegedly armed F-16 fighter jets.

The U.S. ship that was being flown over was the USS Jason Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, according to CBS. The ship is part of a flotilla of warships sent to the area recently in order to go after narco-terrorists and criminal organizations.