‘75 kilometers from our shores’: Venezuela alleges 'illegal incursion' by US fighter jets

Caracas: Venezuela on Thursday condemned what it described as an "illegal incursion" by US fighter jets into an area under Venezuelan air traffic control, calling it a "provocation" that "threatens national sovereignty."

In a joint statement, the Venezuelan foreign and defence ministries said the aircraft were detected "75 kilometres from our shores," without specifying whether they had actually crossed into Venezuelan airspace.

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said five US fighter jets had "dared to approach the Venezuelan coast" and were detected by air defences and the tracking systems of Maiquetia International Airport, which serves the capital Caracas.

The statement accused the United States of disregarding international law and putting civil aviation in the Caribbean Sea at risk.

Last month, US President Donald Trump dispatched 10 F-35 aircraft to Puerto Rico, marking the largest military deployment in the Caribbean in over three decades. Trump also sent eight warships and a nuclear submarine to the region, citing a mission to combat drug trafficking to the United States.

Venezuela’s left-wing President Nicolas Maduro has accused Trump of a covert attempt to bring about regime change.

In recent weeks, US forces have destroyed four boats belonging to alleged drug traffickers. Fourteen people were killed in the operations in international waters, raising legal questions from rights groups as well as US Democrats and some Republicans.