U.S. fighter jets spotted near Venezuela, defense minister says

Venezuela’s air defense systems detected five American F-35 Lightning II aircraft operating near its coast, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Thursday. The fighter jets were flying about 47 miles from Venezuela, according to a government release. They were flying at a speed of 400 knots and an altitude of 35,000 feet, Padrino said in a broadcast on state television.

Padrino referred to the close flyby as a provocation and a threat to national security. He had never seen such a deployment before, he said. Padrino was aware that U.S. combat aircraft were based in Puerto Rico and planned to track their movements, he said. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro had already issued orders, Padrino said, though he didn’t clarify what they entailed. He also said Maduro had declared a state of exception, a tool that Maduro in the past has used to give his government more legal power to act.

The U.S. State Department had not released a statement on the situation by Friday morning. The United States struck three boats in the Caribbean last month that allegedly were running drugs—at least two of the struck boats originated from Venezuela.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on a U.S. military strike on alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers.