Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near US Navy vessel, Pentagon says – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(CNN) — Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters on Thursday, in a move the US Department of Defense called “highly provocative.”
“Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations,” the Defense Department said in a statement on X.
“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 continued.
CNN has reached out to the Defense Department and the White House for additional comment.
The action comes amid growing tension between Venezuela and the United States.
CNN previously reported that US warships and military personnel have been deployed to the Venezuelan coast, and President Nicolas Maduro has announced the deployment of troops and militias, as well as a call for Venezuelans to join the Bolivarian Militia.
In the latest escalation, the US on Tuesday carried out a lethal military strike against a suspected drug vessel linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, President Donald Trump announced earlier this week.
Trump said 11 people were killed in the strike in “international waters.”
In recent weeks, the US military has deployed more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels.
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