Two of Maduro's F-16s flew over a US destroyer and the Defense Department responded harshly: "The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised"

Two Venezuelan Air Force F-16 fighter jets conducted a flyover Thursday over the USS Jason Dunham, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in waters near Venezuela. Defense Department officials confirmed the event and described it as a show of force by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.

In a statement, the Defense Department warned, "Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter-narco-terror operations. The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military."

Ships sent to confront criminal networks

The USS Jason Dunham is part of a fleet recently sent by the Pentagon to the Caribbean. According to defense officials, the mission is aimed at confronting drug cartels and narcoterrorism-related organizations in the region. So far, it has not been reported whether the vessel responded to the passage of the Venezuelan fighters.

Recent operation against criminal networks

In the midst of the escalation, Venezuela's illegitimate Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, announced an increase in the deployment of forces inside the country. Among the measures are the use of drones with various missions, river patrols in areas such as Catatumbo, and the dispatch of larger ships to territorial waters.

"We are also going to have a significant deployment of drones with different missions, exploration and surveillance points (...) naval patrols (...) and larger ships in our territorial waters," said Padrino.