President Donald Trump has warned that, if Venezuelan jets fly over US naval ships and put us in a dangerous position, they'll be shot down.
His warning follows incidents where Venezuela flew military aircraft near a US vessel off the coast of South America for the second time in two days, as reported by US officials to CBS News.
These developments come on the heels of a US strike against what Trump officials described as a drug-carrying vessel from Venezuela, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has denounced US allegations as untrue and insists that the tensions between the two countries do not warrant a military conflict.
Venezuela has always been willing to talk, to engage in dialogue, but we demand respect, Maduro stated.
When approached by reporters on Friday regarding potential future incidents with Venezuelan jets, Trump reiterated that Venezuela would be in trouble if they overstepped again. He emphasized his administration's stance on combating drug trafficking from Latin America.
Currently, there is an increasing military presence in the southern Caribbean, including the deployment of additional naval assets and troop formations as the US looks to prevent the influx of drugs.
Trump, a longstanding critic of Maduro's leadership, recently doubled the reward for information regarding Maduro's location to $50 million, labeling him as one of the world's leading narco-traffickers. Throughout Trump’s first term, American authorities brought forward several accusations against Maduro and other Venezuelan officials for drug trafficking and corruption.
Despite the heightened military rhetoric, Maduro has previously dismissed the claims made by the Trump administration regarding Venezuela's role in drug trafficking, suggesting that American actions reflect a desire for regime change.
