Trump: Venezuelan jets ‘will be shot down’ if they endanger US forces

ISTANBUL

President Donald Trump warned Friday that Venezuelan military aircraft that approach US naval vessels will be “shot down.”

“I would say they’re going to be in trouble. We'll let them know about that … if they fly in a dangerous position,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. His remarks came one day after two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets “flew near” a US warship in the Caribbean Sea.

The US Defense Department called the move “highly provocative” and warned the Venezuelan government that it should not interfere with US counter-narcotics or counter-terror operations.

Trump emphasized the US’ commitment to stopping drug trafficking from Venezuela and elsewhere. “We don’t want drugs coming in from Venezuela or anybody else, or any place else, so we’ll be tough on that,” he said.

Asked if the US sought regime change in Venezuela, Trump said, “Well, we’re not talking about that, but we are talking about the fact that you had an election, which was a very strange election. To put it mildly, I’m being very nice when I say that.”

He claimed that Venezuelan prisons “have been opened up to our country,” including members of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization, he said were now in the US.

Trump previously signed an executive order calling for increasing the use of military force against Latin American drug cartels. Following Trump’s orders, a US naval group, including seven warships and a submarine, were dispatched to Caribbean waters near Venezuela on Aug. 28.