The US Department of Defense has said that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters, a move the Pentagon described as an attempt to interfere with counter-narcotics operations.
The incident came two days after US forces carried out a strike that killed 11 people aboard a vessel from Venezuela in the Caribbean.
President Donald Trump said the boat was transporting narcotics for the Tren de Aragua cartel, which Washington has designated a "narco-terrorist organisation."
The Pentagon warned Venezuela "not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military."
It described Thursday’s flyover as a "highly provocative move" designed to obstruct operations.
According to the New York Times, citing a US defense official, two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham, a guided-missile destroyer, in the southern Caribbean Sea.
The US warship did not engage, the official said.
Tuesday’s strike marked an unusual use of the military in what is typically a law enforcement matter handled by the Coast Guard.
Trump later posted video footage that appeared to show a speeding boat destroyed by an air strike.
Legal experts have questioned the justification for the attack, noting the administration did not present evidence that the US was under imminent threat or that the vessel’s passengers were armed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the strike, saying the vessel was being run by a designated cartel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released footage of the boat before it was hit.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned that his country would "constitutionally declare a republic in arms" if attacked by US forces, as Washington expands its maritime presence in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels.
