Pentagon condemns Venezuela after F-16 jets fly over US Navy destroyer: ‘Highly provocative’
Venezuela deploys jets near US destroyer after strike on ‘drug boat’
- The Venezuelan military deployed two F-16 fighter jets near the USS Jason Dunham, a US Navy destroyer, in international waters in the Caribbean.
- The Pentagon denounced Venezuela's action as a highly provocative move and a show of force.
- The incident occurred days after President Donald Trump ordered a US military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in the Caribbean Sea, which he claimed killed 11 suspected gang members.
- US officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, defended the strike as a necessary measure against drug trafficking.
- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the US of attempting regime change and warned of a strong response to any further US military build-up near Venezuela's coast.