Venezuela's government slammed what it called an "illegal incursion" on Thursday, October 2, by US fighter jets into an area under Venezuelan air traffic control, accusing the United States of a "provocation" that "threatens national sovereignty."
The Venezuelan foreign and defense ministries said the planes were detected "75 kilometers from our shores," without saying whether they violated Venezuelan airspace.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino earlier claimed five US fighter jets had "dared to approach the Venezuelan coast" and had been detected by air defenses and the tracking systems of Maiquetia international airport, which serves the capital Caracas.
In their joint statement, the defense and economy ministries accused the United States of flouting international law and jeopardizing civil aviation in the Caribbean Sea.
US President Donald Trump last month dispatched 10 F-35 aircraft to Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean, as part of the biggest military deployment in the area in over three decades.
He also sent eight warships and a nuclear submarine to the region as part of a stated operation to combat drug trafficking across the Caribbean to the United States.
Venezuela's left-wing authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro has accused Trump of a covert bid to bring about regime change.
US forces have blown up four boats belonging to alleged drug traffickers in recent weeks, according to Trump.
Fourteen people have been killed in the attacks in international waters, the legality of which has been questioned by rights groups as well as US Democrats and some Republicans.