Two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew near a U.S. Navy ship on Thursday, the Department of Defense said in a statement published on X that described the action as a “show of force.”

The Department of Defense confirmed that two aircraft Venezuelans “flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters.”

“This highly provocative action was intended to interfere with our counternarcotics operations,” the statement said. “The cartel that rules Venezuela is strongly advised to no longer attempt to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations conducted by the U.S. military.” The U.S. Navy ships were sent to Venezuelan waters based on President Donald Trump’s pledge to combat drug cartels and trafficking, and amid rising tensions between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of colluding with drug cartels to traffic narcotics into the United States and recently doubled the reward for his arrest to $50 million. The Venezuelan government has denied the allegations, with Maduro calling the warships a “criminal and bloody threat” earlier this week, deploying drones and warships to patrol the coast.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military said it attacked a ship allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela and claimed to have killed 11 people on board whom it accused of belonging to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.