Venezuela Reports Detecting 5 Combat Aircraft Near Its Coast

Venezuelan Defense Minister Padrino characterized the action as a threat from the US. ‘These are combat aircraft that have dared to approach the Venezuelan coast,’ Padrino said at an airbase, in comments broadcast on state television, adding that information about the aircraft had been reported to a control tower by an airline. ‘The presence of these aircraft flying close to our Caribbean Sea is a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the nation.’ The US has been deploying a fleet of warships through the Caribbean. The American government claims the deployment is to combat drug trafficking. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump suggested that he could combat drug cartels in Venezuela ‘by land.’ ‘Venezuela is very dangerous with drugs and other things. We have a lot of drugs coming [from Venezuela to the United States] by sea. We have hit several vessels. And since we did that, we no longer have drugs coming to the US by sea,’ Trump stated. ‘Now we are going to look at the cartels. We are going to seriously look at the cartels that come by land,’ the Republican added before participating in an event with American military personnel. Trump did not provide details on how the ‘by land’ operations to combat Venezuelan cartels would be carried out. The country’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, stated that Nicolás Maduro signed a decree to declare a state of exception in case of a potential American aggression. Without presenting evidence, Trump has accused Maduro of sending prisoners, psychiatric hospital patients, and drugs to the United States. Additionally, the White House claims that the Venezuelan president’s government is not legitimate due to the recent elections in the country. Since the beginning of the escalation of tensions between the two countries, the American government has reported that the Armed Forces attacked three boats carrying drugs from Venezuela. The first incident resulted in the death of 11 people on September 2.