Venezuela says five US fighter jets detected near Caribbean coast and calls it a security threat.

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said five U.S. combat aircraft were detected near the country’s Caribbean coast on Oct. 2, calling the incident a threat and a provocation. The claim comes amid heightened U.S.–Venezuela military posturing in the Caribbean, raising risks of miscalculation that could disrupt regional security and trade lanes.

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced on state television that five U.S. combat aircraft were detected off the Caribbean coast on Thursday, Oct. 2. He framed the flights as a provocation and threat from the United States, a message later repeated by European and Latin American outlets; he did not identify aircraft types or an exact location, and officials said the initial alert came from an airline to a control tower. The claim lands amid recent U.S. and Venezuelan deployments in the region, increasing the chance of military run-ins and policy fallout for Washington and hemispheric partners.
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Operationally, the alert reported by civil aviation likely passed through the Maiquetía Flight Information Region (FIR), which covers the airspace serving access to the main airports in the central zone. In the absence of public coordinates, the key parameters remain distance from the coastline, flight path, and altitude of the aircraft. In such situations, the Integrated Aerospace Defense Command (CODAI) is responsible for correlating primary and secondary radar traces, validating friend or neutral identification, and, if needed, ordering a quick reaction launch. Padrino did not mention an interception or escort by Venezuelan fighters, which suggests the episode occurred within the identification zone or near international airspace, beyond 12 nautical miles. Authorities have not released imagery or characteristics that would clarify whether the aircraft were stealth, multirole, or reconnaissance platforms.

The regional context nevertheless leads Caracas to view this kind of approach as pressure. In recent weeks, there has been a visible increase in U.S. naval assets in the Caribbean and the deployment of fifth-generation fighters, framed in Washington as part of a campaign against cartels. In addition, reports have pointed to a strengthened maritime-air posture, including F-35s, at bases and operating areas around the Caribbean arc.

On the air component, the U.S. posture thickened from mid-September with the arrival of a flight of Marine Corps F-35B aircraft at Ceiba, on the former Roosevelt Roads base in Puerto Rico. The jets were filmed and photographed beginning September 13 as part of a package announced at up to ten F-35s, their presence associated with USS Iwo Jima and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. In parallel, MQ-9 Reaper drones were observed and described as operating from Puerto Rico for extended maritime surveillance, while P-8A Poseidon aircraft conduct maritime patrol and anti-submarine missions, sometimes from San Juan according to U.S. media. The whole is supported by transport and aerial refueling assets that extend the range of patrols and combat air patrols over water. This air posture, linked to surface sensors, provides Washington with an ISR network and short-notice strike options, altering the tactical balance near Venezuela’s approaches.

Caracas has responded with large-scale exercises. In late August and September, the Ministry of Defense mobilized naval units, drones, air-defense systems, and air elements to patrol the coastline and “reinforce posture” on La Orchila Island and along the central coast. These announcements, carried on official channels and picked up by international media, punctuated a series of drills designed to demonstrate the operational readiness of the Bolivarian forces.

The current sequence fits into a pattern of closely spaced incidents. In early September, U.S. officials accused two Venezuelan F-16s of flying close over a U.S. Navy destroyer in international waters, describing the maneuver as provocative. Wires then reported a formal warning delivered to Caracas by the Pentagon. These mutual accusations contribute to an atmosphere of escalation in which each side documents the other’s movements in its own way and emphasizes the legality of its actions.

At this stage, Venezuelan authorities have not published images or detailed flight tracks, and no immediate official U.S. comment was available on this specific episode. In the preceding days, however, media coverage of the area underscored that the U.S. posture remained present and that Caracas continued to communicate about coastal patrols and exercises.