The Pentagon issued a warning to the Maduro government in Venezuela Thursday night after two of the regime’s F-16 fighter jets flew near the USS Jason Dunham, an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer that is part of a U.S. fleet patrolling off the coast of Venezuela to combat that government’s drug cartel trafficking. (Previous TGP report.)
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. had destroyed a boat carrying drugs in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. It was later reported all eleven accused narco-terrorists on board who were killed were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
President Donald Trump said the US military targeted a boat carrying drugs from Venezuela, touting the administration’s success after deploying naval vessels to the Caribbean as part of a push to stop narco-trafficking https://t.co/5zQu5Yvkyf pic.twitter.com/BHzNtGFpWV
— Bloomberg (@business) September 2, 2025
CBS News reporters Jim LaPorta and Charlie D’Agato were first to report the F-16s “show of force” overflight (excerpt):
Two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham on Thursday, according to multiple Defense Department officials who described the action as a “show of force.”
The Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, is among a flotilla of U.S. warships dispatched to the region in recent weeks that the Pentagon says have been deployed to target criminal organizations and narco-terrorism.
CBS News was unable to determine what actions the USS Jason Dunham took, if any, in response to the flyover.
Pentagon statement: “”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 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.”
— Department of Defense (@DeptofDefense) September 5, 2025
Earlier Thursday, CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs reported comments by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at a stop at Fort Benning, Georgia on the operation targeting the Venezuelan drug boat:
“There’s no reason for me to give the public or adversaries any more information than that. But if you’re trafficking drugs, and you’re a known cartel entity, a designated terror organization, and you’re headed for the United States or part of a process that would head to the United States, that will have lethal consequences. The poisoning of the American people is over,” @SecDef Pete Hegseth tells us in gaggle at Fort Benning, when asked about boat from Venezuela the admin says was carrying illegal drugs. “We smoked a drug boat and there’s 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean and when other people try to do that, they’re going to meet the same fate.”
“There’s no reason for me to give the public or adversaries any more information than that. But if you’re trafficking drugs, and you’re a known cartel entity, a designated terror organization, and you’re headed for the United States or part of a process that would head to the… pic.twitter.com/vw1bisF26F
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 4, 2025
While on a diplomatic visit to Mexico Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke about the drug boat attack, “”The United States has long, for many, many years, established intelligence that allow us to interdict and stop drug boats, and we did that and it doesn’t work … what will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.”
“The United States has long, for many, many years, established intelligence that allow us to interdict and stop drug boats, and we did that and it doesn’t work … what will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.” – @SecRubio pic.twitter.com/gUNVJQct3P
— Department of State (@StateDept) September 3, 2025
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