The U.S. Department of Defense denounced Thursday that two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the destroyer USS Jason Dunham, which was sailing in international waters of the Caribbean.
The Department of Defense, in an official statement, described this act as a “provocative maneuver” to interfere with actions against “narcoterrorism”.
In addition, a Pentagon spokesman, quoted by U.S. media, called the maneuver an “unnecessary and dangerous show of force,” assuring that the U.S. Navy “will continue to operate freely and safely anywhere in the world where permitted by international law.”
The incident involving Venezuelan fighter jets comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Caracas, after Donald Trump’s administration launched a direct attack on a vessel attributed to the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, claiming to have eliminated 11 of its members carrying a drug shipment.
The USS Jason Dunham is part of U.S. maritime security operations in the southern Caribbean, where it deployed eight warships and three amphibious ships with more than 4,500 troops as part of its “counter-narcotics” operations, according to EFE.
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