Venezuela on Saturday accused the US of allegedly seizing a fishing boat for eight hours in its unique financial zone, because the U.S. navy patrols the Caribbean to goal drug cartels.
The vessel carrying 9 fishermen was “illegally and hostilely” detained on Friday by the united statesJason Dunham, a destroyer, the overseas ministry in Caracas stated in an announcement.
The ministry stated the boat was manned by tuna fishermen, which was crusing 48 nautical miles northeast of La Blanquilla Island, which belongs to Venezuela.
“The warship deployed 18 armed brokers who boarded and occupied the small, innocent boat for eight hours,” the assertion stated, calling the incident a “direct provocation by way of the unlawful use of extreme navy means.”
Those that ordered the seizure “are searching for an incident to justify escalating conflict within the Caribbean, with the goal of regime change” in Caracas, the assertion stated.
It demanded that the U.S. “instantly stop these actions that endanger safety and peace within the Caribbean.”
The assertion addressed the American folks, saying that the Venezuelan authorities needs them, “to acknowledge the seriousness of those maneuvers and reject using their troopers as sacrificial items to maintain the wishes of a grasping and predatory elite.”
Tensions between the 2 international locations have soared in current weeks after Washington deployed warships within the southern Caribbean, as President Trump steps up stress on Maduro.
The US accuses the leftist chief of heading a cocaine trafficking cartel and lately doubled its bounty for his seize to $50 million.
Earlier this month, U.S. forces blew up an alleged drug boat within the Caribbean, killing 11 folks. Mr. Trump stated it belonged to the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan felony group he tied to Maduro.
