Crystal Charles
President Donald Trump has warned that Venezuelan military aircraft will be shot down if they endanger U.S. naval vessels in the Caribbean.
The warning follows reports that Venezuelan jets flew near a U.S. ship for the second time in two days, according to U.S. officials. The incidents came shortly after a U.S. strike destroyed what Washington described as a Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel, killing 11 people.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said Venezuela would be in “trouble” if its aircraft continued to provoke U.S. forces. “If they put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shot down,” he said, adding that his generals had full authority to respond.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro dismissed the U.S. claims as false and accused Washington of seeking to provoke conflict. “Venezuela has always been willing to talk, but we demand respect,” he said.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has escalated his anti-drug campaign in Latin America, deploying additional U.S. naval assets, Marines, and sailors to the southern Caribbean. The White House confirmed that 10 F-35 fighter jets have been sent to Puerto Rico as part of the build-up.
Trump accused Maduro’s government of fueling narcotics trafficking and said members of the Tren de Aragua gang—labeled a terrorist organization by Washington—were operating inside the United States. He also called Venezuela’s recent election “very strange” and doubled a U.S. reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
Maduro, sworn in for a third term in January after a contested vote, has rejected U.S. charges of drug trafficking, corruption, and narco-terrorism. He accused Washington of seeking “regime change through military threat.”