Venezuela says US destroyer illegally boarded Venezuelan fishing boat

Venezuela accused a U.S. Navy destroyer of illegally boarding and occupying a Venezuelan fishing vessel on Friday in the southern Caribbean, detaining nine fishermen for eight hours, in an incident that Caracas says further escalates already high tensions between the two countries. The Venezuelan foreign ministry and Foreign Minister Yván Gil said personnel from the USS Jason Dunham boarded the tuna boat while it was operating in Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone, deploying 18 armed agents who prevented communications and normal activities before the fishermen were later released under escort by the Venezuelan navy.

Gil read the ministry’s statement at a Saturday news conference and showed video he said documented the boarding. He called the action illegal and hostile and accused the United States of seeking a provocation to justify military escalation and continued efforts at regime change. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Pentagon officials also did not immediately reply to inquiries about the episode.

The incident comes amid a wider U.S. military posture in the southern Caribbean authorized by President Donald Trump in August to...