The incident raised tensions after US military killed 11 people in anti-drug attacks in the Caribbean.
Trump says US troops killed 11 cartel suspects on a Caribbean strike
President Donald Trump has announced that the US forces killed 11 Tren de Aragua members on a naval strike during the escalation of their counter-drug operations.
- The Venezuelan F-16 jumped over a US Navy destroyer in the Caribbean, US officials say.
- The pentagon equates Venezuelan President Maduro’s government with the Narco trafficking cartel.
WASHINGTON – Two Venezuelan F-16 fighters have jumped over a US naval destroyer in the Caribbean, US officials told Reuters, sparking a harsh US warning to Venezuela as they did not interfere with the escalating US military operations in the Caribbean.
The September 5 incident in which the Pentagon said it had occurred in international waters raised tensions two days after President Donald Trump killed 11 people on board aboard a ship from Venezuela, where he said he was carrying illegal drugs.
Legal experts have raised questions about the attack, despite the Trump administration claiming it has the authority to attack the US on criminal gangster Tren de Aragua’s trafficking drug members after Washington designated a terrorist organization earlier this year.
In a brief statement that only provides a broad overview of the incident, Caracas claims it is denying that the Pentagon has equated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government with the Narco trafficking cartel. Trump accused Maduro of running through Tren de Aragua.
“Today, two Maduro administration aircraft flew near US naval vessels in international waters,” the Pentagon said in a statement, calling it “a very provocative move.”
“We strongly recommend that cartels running Venezuela do not pursue further efforts to disrupt, block or disrupt anti-drug and counterterrorism operations carried out by the US military.”
Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the Venezuelan military aircraft was an F-16 and flew the USS Jason Dunham.
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Dunham is one of at least seven US warships deployed in the Caribbean, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines amid the military accumulation that sparked concerns from Karaka.
The US Marines and seafarers from the 22nd Marine Corps expeditionary unit are also conducting amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
Trump’s decision to blow up a drug ship suspected of passing through the Caribbean is, rather than seizing the ship and arresting the crew, recalls memories of the US fight against extremist groups like al-Qaeda, very unusual.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses defended the strike in comments to reporters early Thursday, vowing that such work will continue.
“American addiction is over,” Hegses said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, has denounced what Trump called “lawless” behaviour in the southern Caribbean.
“The Congress has not declared a war with Venezuela or Tren de Aragua, and the mere designation of the group as a terrorist organisation will not grant President Carte Blanche to ignore the clear constitutional authority of Parliament on issues of war and peace,” Omar said in a statement.
