Venezuela slams presence of US F-35 fighter planes spotted off coast

Venezuelan authorities calls connected US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to cease 'thrill-seeking and warmongering posture'.

Venezuela’s authorities has blasted an “illegal incursion” adjacent its borders by United States warplanes and accused the US of “military harassment” and threatening the “security of the nation”.

Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said connected Thursday that astatine slightest 5 F-35 combatant jets had been detected, successful what helium describes arsenic a menace that “US imperialism has dared to bring adjacent to the Venezuelan coast”.

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“We’re watching them, I privation you to know. And I privation you to cognize that this doesn’t intimidate us. It doesn’t intimidate the radical of Venezuela,” Padrino said, speaking from an airbase, according to the Agencia Venezuela quality outlet.

“The beingness of these planes flying adjacent to our Caribbean Sea is simply a vulgarity, a provocation, a menace to the information of the nation,” Padrino said.

“I denounce earlier the satellite the subject harassment, the subject menace by the US authorities against the radical of Venezuela, who privation peace, enactment and happiness,” helium said.

The presence of the US combat planes was detected by the country’s aerial defences, aerial postulation power systems astatine Maiquetia planetary airport, which serves the superior Caracas, arsenic good arsenic a commercialized airliner, Venezuelan authorities said.

In a associated statement, Venezuela’s overseas and defence ministries said the US combat planes were detected 75km (46.6 miles) “from our shores”. If the planes came nary person than the region mentioned by Venezuelan authorities, past they would not person violated the country’s airspace — which extends astir 12 nautical miles, oregon 14 miles, disconnected the coast.

Still, the ministries accused the US of flouting planetary instrumentality and jeopardising civilian aviation successful the Caribbean Sea.

Venezuela “urges US Secretary of War Peter Hegseth to instantly cease his reckless, thrill-seeking and warmongering posture”, which is disturbing the bid of the Caribbean, the connection added.

Venezuela denuncia incursión ilegal de aviones de combate de EEUU en sus costas: «Provocación que amenaza la soberanía nacional» (+Comunicado)https://t.co/GnR4wLRDzz

— Agencia Venezuela News (@AgenciaVNews) October 2, 2025

The Pentagon has yet to respond to requests for remark from media organisations.

US media reported earlier connected Thursday that President Donald Trump has notified Congress that the US is present engaged successful “non-international equipped conflict” against cause cartels, members of which would present beryllium considered “unlawful combatants”.

Trump’s determination to a much ceremonial warfare footing follows connected from the US administration’s rebranding of Latin American cause cartels arsenic “narco-terrorists” who are seeking to destabilise the US by trafficking amerciable drugs crossed US borders.

The determination follows weeks of hostility with Venezuela aft Trump dispatched US F-35 stealth combatant jets to Puerto Rico, a US territory successful the Caribbean, arsenic portion of the biggest subject deployment successful Latin America successful decades and which has already seen aerial attacks connected boats disconnected the Venezuelan seashore that the US president alleged were progressive successful cause trafficking.

So far, 14 radical person been killed successful the US attacks disconnected Venezuela that officials successful Caracas and respective autarkic experts person described arsenic extrajudicial killings.

Eight US warships and a atomic submarine person besides been deployed to the portion arsenic portion of Trump’s alleged cognition to combat cause trafficking, but which Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro says is simply a covert bid to bring astir authorities alteration successful his country.