The Pentagon issued a warning to the Maduro authorities in Venezuela Thursday evening after two of the regime’s F-16 fighter jets flew close to the usJason Dunham, an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer that’s a part of a U.S. fleet patrolling off the coast of Venezuela to fight that authorities’s drug cartel trafficking. (Previous TGP report.)
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump introduced the U.S. had destroyed a ship carrying medication in worldwide waters off the coast of Venezuela. It was later reported all eleven accused narco-terrorists on board who had been killed had been members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
President Donald Trump stated the US army focused a ship carrying medication from Venezuela, touting the administration’s success after deploying naval vessels to the Caribbean as a part of a push to cease narco-trafficking https://t.co/5zQu5Yvkyf pic.twitter.com/BHzNtGFpWV
— Bloomberg (@enterprise) September 2, 2025
CBS Information reporters Jim LaPorta and Charlie D’Agato were first to report the F-16s “present of pressure” overflight (excerpt):
Two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the usJason Dunham on Thursday, in line with a number of Protection Division officers who described the motion as a “present of pressure.”
The Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, is amongst a flotilla of U.S. warships dispatched to the area in current weeks that the Pentagon says have been deployed to focus on felony organizations and narco-terrorism.
CBS Information was unable to find out what actions the usJason Dunham took, if any, in response to the flyover.
Pentagon assertion: “”Right this moment, two Maduro regime army plane flew close to a U.S. Navy vessel in worldwide waters. This extremely provocative transfer was designed to intervene with our counter-narco terror operations. The cartel operating Venezuela is strongly suggested to not pursue any additional effort to hinder, deter or intervene with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US army.”
— Division of Protection (@DeptofDefense) September 5, 2025
Earlier Thursday, CBS Information reporter Jennifer Jacobs reported feedback by Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth at a cease at Fort Benning, Georgia on the operation concentrating on the Venezuelan drug boat:
“There’s no cause for me to offer the general public or adversaries any extra data than that. However in the event you’re trafficking medication, and also you’re a recognized cartel entity, a chosen terror group, and also you’re headed for the US or a part of a course of that might head to the US, that may have deadly penalties. The poisoning of the American folks is over,” @SecDef Pete Hegseth tells us in gaggle at Fort Benning, when requested about boat from Venezuela the admin says was carrying unlawful medication. “We smoked a drug boat and there’s 11 narco-terrorists on the backside of the ocean and when different folks strive to do this, they’re going to satisfy the identical destiny.”
“There is no cause for me to offer the general public or adversaries any extra data than that. However in the event you’re trafficking medication, and you are a recognized cartel entity, a chosen terror group, and also you’re headed for the US or a part of a course of that might head to the… pic.twitter.com/vw1bisF26F
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 4, 2025
Whereas on a diplomatic go to to Mexico Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke concerning the drug boat assault, “”The US has lengthy, for a lot of, a few years, established intelligence that enable us to interdict and cease drug boats, and we did that and it doesn’t work … what’s going to cease them is once you blow them up, once you do away with them.”
“The US has lengthy, for a lot of, a few years, established intelligence that enable us to interdict and cease drug boats, and we did that and it would not work … what’s going to cease them is once you blow them up, once you do away with them.” – @SecRubio pic.twitter.com/gUNVJQct3P
— Division of State (@StateDept) September 3, 2025
