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4d ago

U.S. Escalates Caribbean Counter-Cartel Campaign as Venezuelan Jets Shadow Navy Destroyer

Invoking new terror designations after a strike that killed 11 alleged Tren de Aragua members, the administration claims legal grounds for an expanded military posture with explicit shoot‑down warnings.

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Venezuelan soldiers march during the military parade as part of 214th anniversary of Venezuela's independence celebrations on July 5, 2025 in Caracas.
Members of the Bolivarian Militia listen to a recorded speech by President Nicolás Maduro at a military garrison in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristrian Hernandez)
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Overview

  • U.S. officials confirmed a Venezuelan fighter jet flew close to the USS Jason Dunham in international waters and called the pass highly provocative, while CBS reported a second similar encounter the following night.
  • The Pentagon moved 10 F-35s to Puerto Rico and now has at least eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, surveillance aircraft, and roughly 4,500 Marines and sailors positioned near Venezuela.
  • President Trump warned Venezuelan aircraft that threaten U.S. forces "will be shot down" and denied pursuing regime change, even as officials increasingly link Nicolás Maduro to cartel activity.
  • CNN reported, and Mediaite relayed, that Trump is weighing strikes on cartel targets inside Venezuela as part of a broader effort to pressure Maduro, a plan not formally detailed by the administration.
  • Maduro condemned the U.S. strike, ordered militia mobilizations, and urged dialogue while Washington raised a reward for his arrest to $50 million; lawmakers in Washington pressed for legal justifications after a scheduled classified briefing was canceled.