Venezuela on Saturday hit out at the United States for allegedly seizing a fishing boat for eight hours in its exclusive economic zone, as the U.S. military patrols the Caribbean to target drug cartels .

The vessel carrying nine fishermen was "illegally and hostilely" detained on Friday by the USS Jason Dunham, a destroyer, the foreign ministry in Caracas said in a statement.

The ministry said the boat was manned by tuna fishermen, which was sailing 48 nautical miles northeast of La Blanquilla Island, which belongs to Venezuela.

"The warship deployed 18 armed agents who boarded and occupied the small, harmless boat for eight hours," the statement said, calling the incident a "direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military means."

Those who ordered the seizure "are

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