US Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham that is currently stationed in the southern Caribbean. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty/file photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuela reported that a US destroyer illegally boarded a Venezuelan fishing boat carrying nine fishermen and detained them for eight hours. According to the Venezuelan statement, issued on Saturday, September 13, the vessel was in Venezuelan waters, “48 nautical miles from Blanquilla Island.”
The incident occurred on Friday, September 12, in Venezuela’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Under international law, an EEZ is a maritime area adjacent to a country’s territorial sea, extending up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline. The coastal state has sovereign rights to explore, utilize and preserve natural resources there, and has jurisdiction over economic and research activities in the region.
While other states have freedom of navigation and overflight within an EEZ, they must respect the rights of the coastal state and international law. Foreign warships do not have jurisdiction to implement control and security measures in this zone.
⚡️ US troops seen SEIZING Venezuelan fishing boat in exclusive economic zone — FIRST visuals
Their craft pulls alongside as they approach the fishermen
American warship USS Jason Dunham visible in background https://t.co/4f5Z9KfGpL pic.twitter.com/qFzoDlDWrE
— RT (@RT_com) September 13, 2025
According to an ABC News report, “a US official told ABC News that Coast Guard personnel stationed aboard the US Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham searched the fishing boat for drugs following a tip but did not locate any contraband.” The report added that the anonymous “US official” disputed claims of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry that the search took eight hours and that the vessel was in Venezuelan waters, something very common in US imperialist military provocations.
Details of the encounter
“Yesterday, a Venezuelan tuna fishing vessel … was boarded in a hostile manner by a unit of the United States Navy, a military unit of the destroyer Jason Dunham, registration DDG-109, equipped with a significant number of weapons, missiles, men, military personnel with war weapons,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil while reading a statement. The same warship had been overflown by two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets just days before.
According to the Venezuelan foreign minister, the US warship deployed “18 soldiers with long weapons who boarded and occupied the small and harmless boat … and impeded communication and the normal activities of the fishermen who were carrying out authorized tuna fishing.”
The Venezuelan government reported the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) monitored and recorded “the incident minute by minute with its air, naval, and surveillance resources, accompanying the fishermen at all times until their release.”
Context of US military buildup
For weeks, the United States has deployed military ships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean, as well as sent F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, in a military escalation that most analysts associate with a new regime change operation against Venezuela’s socialist revolution.
Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading the non-existent Cartel of the Suns, the now defunct Tren de Aragua criminal gang and even the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. All were recently designated as international terrorist organizations by the United States. The Trump administration claims that its troop deployment in the Caribbean is part of an anti-drug operation, although 95% of the drugs entering US territory does not cross Venezuelan territory.
The Venezuelan government and many local and international analysts accuse the United States of fabricating rhetoric against Venezuelan authorities to overthrow them.
Regarding the hostile boarding of the Venezuelan fishing boat, the Venezuelan government asserted that the incident “reflects the shameful conduct of political sectors in Washington who, irresponsibly, commit extremely expensive military resources and trained soldiers as instruments to fabricate pretexts for war adventures.”
Recent precedent and US response
At the start of this month, the US military claimed to have killed 11 people in an attack that sank a boat allegedly coming from Venezuela. According to Washington, the vessel was carrying narcotics. According to the Venezuelan government, its investigation shows that 10 Venezuelans were in the small boat and none had ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, contrary to the US narrative.
Some US lawmakers have demanded that the Trump administration provide information about this attack, as many human rights experts consider it a breach of US and international laws. However, the White House has provided no detailed information about the strike.
In its statement, Venezuela demanded that the United States immediately cease “actions that jeopardize the security and peace of the Caribbean.” It also directly urged US citizens to “recognize the seriousness of these maneuvers and condemn the use of their troops in them.”
The following is the unofficial translation of the Venezuelan statement:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reports that, this Friday, September 12, the Venezuelan vessel “Carmen Rosa,” crewed by nine humble tuna fishermen, sailing 48 nautical miles northeast of La Blanquilla Island, in waters belonging to the Venezuelan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was illegally and hostilely attacked by a United States Navy destroyer, the USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), equipped with powerful cruise missiles and crewed by highly trained marines.
The warship deployed eighteen personnel with long weapons who boarded and occupied the small, harmless vessel for eight hours, impeding communication and the normal activities of the fishermen who were carrying out authorized tuna fishing activities. This operation lacks any strategic proportionality and constitutes a direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military means.
Those ordering these provocations are looking for an incident to justify an escalation of the war in the Caribbean, in order to further their failed policy of regime change, rejected by the US people themselves. By placing their soldiers and officers as cannon fodder and risking their lives once again, they are repeating the history of other events that led to endless wars like in Vietnam.
This incident reflects the shameful behavior of political sectors in Washington, which irresponsibly commit extremely expensive military resources and trained soldiers as instruments to fabricate pretexts for war adventures, at the same time attacking their own military prestige and honor by carrying out this grotesque and excessive maneuver.
The Bolivarian National Armed Force, faithful to its constitutional duty, monitored and recorded the incident minute by minute with its air, naval, and surveillance resources, accompanying the fishermen at all times until their release, demonstrating Venezuela’s full capacity to monitor, deter, and respond to any threat, without falling into provocations that undermine its commitment to peace.
The Venezuelan government demands that the United States immediately cease these actions that endanger the security and peace of the Caribbean. It also calls on the US people to recognize the seriousness of these maneuvers and condemn the use of their soldiers as sacrificial pawns to sustain the desires of a greedy and predatory elite.
Our country reaffirms its commitment to peace and will continue to defend its sovereignty and the security of its waters against any provocation.
Caracas, September 13, 2025.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/AC
