A set of Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters Thursday, two days after the U.S. said it struck a Venezuelan drug vessel, according to a Defense Department statement posted to X.

Two Venezuelan F-16s conducted the aggressive maneuver over the USS Jason Dunham, an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer, in a clear “show of force,” a U.S. defense official confirmed to Navy Times.

“This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations,” the DOD’s X post read.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. struck a Venezuelan drug-carrying vessel in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 on board.

The boat contained Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists, Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Navy Times r

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