CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Personnel from a U.S. warship boarded a Venezuelan tuna boat with nine fishermen while it was sailing in Venezuelan waters, Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Saturday, underlining strained relations with the United States.
They were then released under escort by the Venezuelan navy.
The fishing boat had authorization from the Ministry of Fisheries to carry out its work, Gil said at a press conference, during which he presented photos of the incident.
Along with the statement, Venezuela’s foreign affairs ministry distributed a short video, taken, according to the ministry, by the Venezuelan fishermen.
In the video, it is alleged that part of the fishing boat, U.S. Navy personnel and the U.S. warship can be seen.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Members of a U.S. S. Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Saturday that a warship boarded a tuna boat carrying nine fishermen while it was in Venezuelan waters, highlighting the country’s tense ties with the United States.
A request for comment from the White House was not immediately answered.
The two countries’ tensions increased following U.S. S. Citing the battle against Latin American drug cartels, President Donald Trump issued an order in August for the deployment of warships in the Caribbean, off the coast of the South American nation.
Yván Gil, the foreign minister, told reporters in a statement on Saturday that the Venezuelan tuna boat was “illegally and hostilely boarded by a United States Navy destroyer” and that 18 armed personnel were on board for eight hours, obstructing communication and the fishermen’s standard activities. Following their release, the Venezuelan navy escorted them.
Gil gave pictures of the incident at a press conference and claimed that the Ministry of Fisheries had given the fishing boat permission to operate.
A brief video that was allegedly taken by the Venezuelan fishermen was also distributed by the country’s foreign affairs ministry along with the statement. According to the video, a portion of the fishing vessel, U. S. Navy members and the U.S. S. One can see a warship.
Gil added that the goal is to “persist in their failed policy” of regime change in Venezuela. “Those who give the order to carry out such provocations are seeking an incident that would justify a military escalation in the Caribbean,” Gil said.
The event was “illegal” and “illegitimate,” according to Gil, who also issued a warning that Venezuela would protect its sovereignty from any “provocation.”. “”.
Days after Trump claimed that his nation had attacked a drug-laden ship and killed 11 people on board, the Venezuelan foreign minister filed a complaint. The administration has not provided any proof to back up Trump’s claim that the ship had left Venezuela and was transporting Tren de Aragua gang members.
Venezuela claimed that the US was engaging in extrajudicial executions. Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister of the South American nation, called Washington’s version “a tremendous lie” and implied that the incident might be connected to the disappearance of some people in a coastal area of the country who had nothing to do with drug trafficking, based on investigations by the Venezuelan government.
Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, has been charged by the Trump administration with organizing a cartel to flood the U.S. A. with drugs, and increased the reward from $25 million to $50 million for his capture.
The U. S. . The government has not indicated that it intends to use the more than 4,000 troops stationed there to conduct a ground invasion.
However, in the event of a possible invasion, the Venezuelan government has urged its people to join the militias, which are armed volunteers, to support its security forces. It encouraged them to report for training at military barracks on Saturday.
