Maduro Pokes the Lion: Venezuelan Jets Buzz US Navy Ship

File this one under "A chihuahua barks at a wolf." On Thursday night, two Venezuelan jets apparently buzzed a U.S. Navy warship in international waters. That's probably not the smartest thing the Venezuelan military or strong-man President Nicolás Maduro could have done, but there you are.

The Defense Department confirmed on Thursday night that two Venezuelan aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. The incident, which the department called a "highly provocative move," comes as the Trump administration ramps up its anti-narco-terrorism efforts.
"Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations," the Defense Department wrote in a statement posted to X. "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 U.S. military."
On Friday, Reuters reported that the U.S. 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield as part of its efforts to combat drug cartels.

It's not clear what the Venezuelan aircraft were, but the Venezuelan air force reportedly has 3 functional American-made F-16 fighters and 21 Russian Sukhoi SU-30MKK "Flanker-G" fighters. The SU-30MKK is a fairly modern aircraft, having been built from 2000 to 2016, although it is probably outmatched by the American F-35.

It's likely the provocative move was in response to a U.S. Marine Corps action, in which a speedboat operated by cartel members and presumably carrying drugs to the United States was detonated on the high seas.

Venezuela’s actions followed an unprecedented U.S. Marine strike Tuesday on a cartel-operated vessel. The Trump administration later said 11 members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – a U.S.-designated terrorist organization – were killed in the strike.
Prior to the strike on Tuesday, U.S. efforts to counter cartels and international gang organizations had taken place largely in the form of seizure and apprehension operations. The strike, however, appeared to signal that the Trump administration was shifting towards a tougher new approach.

Mind you, detonating drug smugglers is generally a good idea. It sets a good example for other would-be smugglers, it saves the U.S. taxpayers the expense of an apprehension and a trial, and it even provides extra protein for the local fish stocks.

Hegseth Tells Maduro Regime: That Drug Boat Takeout Was No AI, and You Can Expect More of the Same

Speaking of that tougher approach, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also on Thursday, had some pointed comments on the matter:

Rubio also seemed to indicate that the U.S. and its allies were working together on this tougher approach to cartels and international gang organizations. He said that "cooperative governments" would help the U.S. identify drug traffickers and "blow them up, if that’s what it takes."

If that's what it takes, sure. Un-aliving cartel goblins isn't a bad thing, not by a long shot. (You may assume that the play on words is intentional.)

As far as Venezuelan aircraft buzzing a U.S. Navy ship: We can assume that the ship's air-defense system got some good training during the fly-by, and it would be mildly amazing if the Venezuelan pilots weren't hearing an alarm that they were being painted by a missile-acquisition radar. It's not clear whether the aircraft had any weapons onboard, but no Venezuelan aircraft is going to fire on a U.S. Navy ship without orders from the top - from Maduro - and the Venezuelan tough guy is surely aware that such an order would be suicide for his government. This fly-by was an empty show of defiance, and nothing more.

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

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