The Venezuelan government accused US personnel of boarding and occupying a civilian fishing boat on Friday, in the latest sign of tensions as the US conducts “counter-narco-terror operations” in the Caribbean.
A US official told ABC News that Coast Guard personnel stationed aboard the US Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham searched the fishing boat for drugs after receiving a tip, but found no contraband.
According to Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry, the US Navy deployed “eighteen personnel with long-range weapons who boarded and occupied” a Venezuelan fishing vessel in waters within Venezuela’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“This operation lacks any strategic proportionality and constitutes a direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military means,” a statement from the foreign ministry read.
A US official familiar with the incident told ABC News that Jason Dunham was given information to board the Venezuelan small craft to see if it was carrying drugs.
According to the official, the law enforcement detachment aboard the destroyer boarded the Venezuelan vessel and searched it, but found no drugs.
The US official disputed claims from Venezuela’s foreign ministry that the search took eight hours, claiming the boat was in international waters.
Trump announced earlier this month that he had ordered increased military presence in the ocean to combat illegal drug smuggling.
On September 2, the US ordered a strike on a drug boat from South America, identifying “positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists.” The president claimed 11 alleged terrorists were killed.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon reported that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near the same US Navy vessel, the USS Jason Dunham, in international waters in a “highly provocative move” intended to disrupt US operations.
