Venezuela Says U.S. Boarding of Tuna Vessel “Hostile”

The Venezuelan government announced on Saturday that a U.S. destroyer intercepted, boarded and occupied a Venezuelan tuna fishing vessel for eight hours in the waters of the South American country's Special Economic Zone on Friday.

In a statement read by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, the government stated that the tuna vessel was boarded in an illegal and hostile manner, and that it was crewed by nine "humble" fishermen and was "harmless."

Tensions have been mounting between Washington and Caracas. Last week, a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean killed 11 people and sank a boat from Venezuela that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration claimed was transporting illegal narcotics.

The Trump administration has provided scant information about last week's attack, despite demands from U.S. Congress members that the government justify the action. The Venezuelan government has said none of the 11 people killed belonged to the gang Tren de Aragua, as the U.S. has alleged. U.S. officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the alleged incident on Friday.

The Venezuelan government identified the U.S. vessel as the USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), "equipped with powerful cruise missiles and manned by highly specialized marines."

It demanded that the U.S. immediately cease targeting vessels, which it said puts "the security and peace of the Caribbean at risk."

(Reuters - Reporting by Reuters; Editing by David Gregorio)