The US Defense Department said two Venezuelan fighter jets flew close to the guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham in international waters, calling the move “highly provocative” and warning Caracas not to interfere with US counter-narcotics operations.

Venezuela has not commented on the incident, instead highlighting President Nicolás Maduro’s activation of the National Militia amid rising tensions.

Washington accuses Maduro of ties to drug cartels and has deployed warships to the Caribbean, while Caracas denounces the buildup as a push for regime change, Al-Jazeera has reported.

The standoff follows a recent US strike on a speedboat allegedly linked to drug trafficking that killed 11 people, which Venezuela and legal experts criticized as an extrajudicial killing.