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US: 2 Venezuelan military aircraft flew close to US Navy vessel on international waters

The U.S. Department of Defense announced late Thursday that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew close to a U.S. Navy ship in international waters.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Military killed 11 people on a Venezuelan vessel in the Caribbean that was allegedly carrying illegal drugs and belonged to a cartel that Donald Trump had designated as a terrorist organization. Legal experts raised questions regarding the attack.

In a statement released by the Defense Department on Thursday, Venezuela was "strongly advised" not to continue any effort to obstruct or deter counter-narcotics operations and counter-terrorism carried out by U.S. forces. The statement didn't provide any further details.

The Pentagon described the action as a "highly provocation move," which it said "was intended to interfere with our anti-narcoterrorism operations."

The New York Times, citing a U.S. Defense official, reported that two Venezuelan F-16 jet fighters flew above the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham, in the southern Caribbean Sea. Newspaper cites a U.S. official as saying that the U.S. warship didn't engage.

The use of military forces in Tuesday's assault was a first. Trump stated in a post on social media that the boat was carrying illegal drugs, and it would be the U.S. Coast Guard's responsibility to intercept them. Legal experts say that if the Coast Guard was fired at while trying to stop the vessel, then the Coast Guard would have been justified in defending itself.

Trump, however, posted on social media a video that appeared to show an air strike destroying a boat speeding by.

The administration failed to provide any evidence of an imminent attack on the United States, did not indicate that the boat was armed, and did not identify the targets who would be critical in a terrorist attack. Previous presidents had done this when similar attacks occurred.

Legal experts say that many people will see the victims of the attack as civilians, and they will view it as extrajudicial.

(source: Reuters)