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Defense Department says ‘two Maduro authorities subject aircraft’ flew adjacent US warship successful a ‘highly provocative’ move.
Published On 5 Sep 2025
Two Venezuelan subject craft flew adjacent a United States Navy vessel successful planetary waters, the US Department of Defense has said, successful a determination described arsenic “highly provocative” amid escalating hostility between Washington and Caracas.
The Defense Department warned Venezuela successful a connection precocious connected Thursday to cease further provocative moves, describing the Venezuelan craft buzzing implicit the US vas – reported to beryllium the guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham – arsenic an effort “to interfere with our counter-narco-terror operations”.
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“Today, 2 Maduro authorities subject craft flew adjacent a US Navy vas successful planetary waters,” the Pentagon said successful a station connected the X platform.
“The cartel moving Venezuela is powerfully advised not to prosecute immoderate further effort to obstruct, deter oregon interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried retired by the US military,” the Pentagon said.
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) September 5, 2025
The New York Times cited a US defence authoritative arsenic saying that 2 Venezuelan F-16 combatant jets flew implicit the guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham successful the confederate Caribbean Sea, but the US vessel did not prosecute the aircraft.
Venezuelan authorities media did not notation the reported brushwood betwixt US and Venezuelan forces arsenic it covered President Nicolas Maduro announcing the archetypal circular activation of the country’s National Militia, whose ranks person been bolstered successful caller weeks by caller volunteers arsenic Washington’s threats intensify.
Venezuela’s Noticias Venevision quality outlet quoted Maduro arsenic saying it was the “first clip successful past that the communal units of the militia volition beryllium activated, spanning the nationalist representation from northbound to south, from eastbound to west, down to the past community”.
US President Donald Trump’s medication has accused Maduro of operating and having adjacent connections to drug trafficking cartels successful Venezuela and the region, claims for which the US has frankincense acold failed to connection immoderate evidence.
In August, Washington doubled a reward to $50m for accusation starring to Maduro’s apprehension implicit allegations of his engagement successful cocaine trafficking. Shortly after, the US deployed respective ships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean and waters disconnected the seashore of Venezuela successful an cognition said to people cause cartels.
Maduro has raised alarm for weeks implicit the US naval deployment successful the Southern Caribbean, claiming the US was “seeking a authorities alteration done subject threat” and promising that if attacked by Washington, helium would mobilise the state and state “a republic successful arms”.
On Tuesday, US forces destroyed an alleged cause trafficking speedboat successful an evident aerial onslaught successful the Caribbean.
Trump said the vessel belonged to a transgression organisation tied to Maduro, and the onslaught had killed 11 people.
Caracas accused Washington of committing extrajudicial killings, saying “they murdered 11 radical without owed process”. Legal experts person besides raised questions astir the legality of the attack, arsenic the Trump medication did not supply immoderate grounds that the US was nether imminent menace from those connected committee the vas oregon that radical connected committee were adjacent armed.
Legal experts said that successful the eyes of galore people, those connected the vessel were civilians, and the onslaught would beryllium seen arsenic an extrajudicial sidesplitting by US forces.
Source:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US) ·