Venezuela's Military Jets Fly Near US Navy Vessel in International Waters.

The US Department of Defense has stated that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters. The Pentagon considers this a "highly provocative move" that was designed to interfere with US counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations. The incident comes after a US military strike killed 11 people on a Venezuelan vessel in the Caribbean that President Donald Trump said was carrying illegal narcotics.

The US Department of Defense has reported that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters, according to multiple Pentagon officials. The incident, described as a "highly provocative move," is seen as an attempt to interfere with ongoing US counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations in the region [1].

The two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham on Thursday, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer that is part of a US naval flotilla dispatched to the region to target criminal organizations and narco-terrorism. The Pentagon has stated that the US Navy vessels were deployed to counter maritime narcotics trafficking and to support the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on drug cartels [1].

The incident comes after a US military strike on Tuesday that resulted in the death of 11 people on board a Venezuelan vessel alleged to be carrying illegal narcotics. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the strike was in response to a boat carrying drugs from Venezuela, and that the crew members killed were part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua [3].

The Venezuelan government has condemned the US military strike, describing it as an "immoral threat" to the entire Caribbean region. Maduro's regime has accused the US of using the strike as a pretext to interfere with Venezuela's sovereignty and has called for international support to denounce the US operation [3].

The US military strike and the subsequent flyover by Venezuelan military aircraft have raised tensions between the US and Venezuela. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of allying with drug cartels to traffic narcotics to the United States, while the Venezuelan government has denied these allegations and called the US warships a "criminal and bloody threat" [1].

The incident highlights the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region and the US's efforts to combat maritime narcotics trafficking. The US has deployed a significant number of naval assets to the Caribbean, including three Aegis guided-missile destroyers and several other warships, to counter the flow of drugs from Venezuela [2].

References:
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-fighter-jets-navy-ship-trump-maduro/
[2] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/why-are-us-warships-heading-toward-venezuela/
[3] https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/us-strikes-alleged-venezuelan-drug-vessel-killing-11-maduro-condemns-us-immoral-threat/