Venezuela says US marines raided a fishermen’s boat in the Caribbean as tensions rise

CARACAS Venezuela AP Personnel from a U S warship boarded a Venezuelan tuna boat with nine fishermen while it was sailing in Venezuelan waters Venezuela s foreign minister disclosed on Saturday underlining strained relations with the United States The White House did not instantly respond to a request for comment Tensions between the two nations escalated after U S President Donald Trump in August ordered the deployment of warships in the Caribbean off the coast of the South American country citing the fight against Latin American drug cartels While reading a report on Saturday Foreign Minister Yv n Gil informed journalists the Venezuelan tuna boat was illegally and hostilely boarded by a United States Navy destroyer and armed personnel who remained on the vessel for eight hours preventing communication and the fishermen s normal sessions They were then issued under escort by the Venezuelan navy The fishing boat had authorization from the Ministry of Fisheries to carry out its work Gil disclosed at a press conference during which he presented a video of the event Those who give the order to carry out such provocations are seeking an occurrence that would justify a military escalation in the Caribbean Gil stated adding that the objective is to persist in their failed framework of regime change in Venezuela Gil stated the development was illegal and illegitimate and warned that Venezuela will defend its sovereignty against any provocation The Venezuelan foreign minister s complaint comes days after Trump stated that his country had attacked a drug-laden vessel and killed people on board Trump disclosed the vessel had departed from Venezuela and was carrying members of the Tren de Aragua gang but his administration has not presented any evidence to backing that claim Venezuela accused the United States of committing extrajudicial killings The South American country s interior minister Diosdado Cabello explained Washington s version is a tremendous lie and suggested that according to Venezuelan ruling body investigations the development could be linked to the disappearance of various individuals in a coastal region of the country who had no ties to drug trafficking The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro of leading a cartel to flood the U S with drugs and doubled the reward for his capture from million to million The U S establishment has given no indication that it plans to carry out a ground incursion with the more than troops being deployed in the area But the Venezuelan regime has nonetheless called on its citizens to enlist in the militias armed contributors in backing of its defense forces in the event of a foreseen incursion On Saturday it urged them to go to military barracks for training sessions Source