MADURO AND TRUMP ON THE BRINK OF CONFLICT: Venezuelan Fighter Jets Fly Over US Destroyer, Pentagon Threatens!

The Pentagon has announced that two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the U.S. destroyer “USS Jason Dunham” yesterday.

CBS News reports that multiple Defense Department officials described the action as a “show of force.”

The destroyer, armed with Aegis guided missiles, is part of a flotilla of U.S. warships sent to the region in recent weeks, which the Pentagon says are deployed with the goal of attacking vessels of criminal organizations and narcoterrorists.

The American television network was unable to determine what actions, if any, the crew of the USS Jason Dunham took in response to the Venezuelan jets’ overflight.

After CBS News published the story, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on the social network X that two Venezuelan aircraft “flew near a U.S. Navy ship in international waters.”

“This very provocative move is designed to disrupt our counter-narcoterrorism operation. The cartel that runs Venezuela is strongly advised not to take any further efforts to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter-narcotic and terrorist operations conducted by the U.S. military,” the statement said.

U.S. Navy ships were sent to the waters near Venezuela after President Donald Trump vowed to crack down on drug cartels, at a time of rising tensions between him and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of allying with drug cartels to traffic narcotics to the U.S.

Reward for Maduro’s Arrest Doubled to $50 Million

U.S. authorities recently doubled the reward they are offering for Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.

The Venezuelan government has denied the accusations, and Maduro earlier this week called the warships a “criminal and bloody threat” and deployed drones and warships to patrol the coast.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military announced that it had struck a boat it claimed was transporting drugs from Venezuela and alleged it had killed 11 people on board whom it accused of belonging to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

These accusations were made by both Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump’s Target Since First Term

Maduro, who won a third term in the July 2024 elections, which were marked by allegations of fraud and a crackdown on the opposition, has been a target for Trump since the U.S. president’s first term from 2017 to 2021.

Trump’s policy of maximum pressure on Venezuela, including an oil embargo that is still in effect, has not succeeded in toppling Maduro from power.

Washington accuses Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), a cocaine trafficking cartel that the Trump administration has designated as a terrorist organization.