Two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets conducted a "show of force" on Thursday by flying over the USS Jason Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer operating in international waters. The flyover occurred as US warships have been deployed to the region to conduct counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations.

The incident was confirmed by the US Defense Department in a statement, which described the action as "highly provocative."

The statement issued a direct warning to the Venezuelan government, asserting, "The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military."

Tensions on the rise

The flyover took place amidst escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela. The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of collaborating with drug cartels to traffic narcotics, and has doubled the reward for his arrest to $50 million.

The Maduro government has denied these allegations, with the president himself calling the presence of US warships a "criminal and bloody threat."

In a separate incident on Tuesday, the US military struck a boat reportedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, alleging that it belonged to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and resulted in the deaths of 11 people.