Venezuelan military planes flew over US ships, says Pentagon

The US Department of Defense reported on Thursday (4) that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew close to a US Navy ship in international waters. In a statement released on X, the Pentagon stated that the move was seen as “highly provocative” with the aim of interfering with anti-narcoterrorism actions. The Department of Defense stated that Venezuela is “strongly advised not to proceed with any further effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with the anti-narcotics and anti-terrorism operations carried out by the US Armed Forces.” This week, US military personnel killed 11 people aboard a Venezuelan vessel in the Caribbean that, according to President Donald Trump, was carrying illegal narcotics and belonged to the Tren de Aragua cartel, which he designated as a “terrorist organization”. Tensions between Washington and Caracas have recently escalated after the US announced a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, who has been facing formal charges of drug trafficking in the US judicial system since 2020. In the announcement, the US Attorney General declared that Maduro “is one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world and a threat to the national security” of the United States.