WILLEMSTAD – Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew over a U.S. Navy vessel operating in international waters, the Pentagon confirmed. The incident comes just days after U.S. forces carried out a strike on a Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean Sea.

Tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated earlier this week when U.S. troops attacked a vessel that, according to American officials, was being used to smuggle drugs. Eleven people were killed in the strike, an operation that Venezuela strongly condemned.

The Pentagon described the Venezuelan flyover as a “highly provocative move” and warned Caracas against interfering with U.S. military operations in the region. The U.S. Department of Defense did not disclose the exact location of the Navy ship at the time of the overflight.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been strained for years, but the latest incidents mark a further deterioration and highlight the growing volatility in the southern Caribbean.