CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela on Saturday hit out at the United States for allegedly seizing a fishing boat for eight hours in its exclusive economic zone, as the US military patrols the Caribbean to target drug cartels.

The vessel carrying nine tuna fishermen was “illegally and hostilely” detained on Friday by the USS Jason Dunham destroyer, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said.

“The warship deployed 18 armed agents who boarded and occupied the small, harmless boat for eight hours,” he said, calling the incident a “direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military means.”

Those who ordered the seizure “are looking for an incident to justify escalating war in the Caribbean, with the aim of regime change” in Caracas, he charged.

Gil demanded the US “immediately cease these actions that endanger security and peace in the Caribbean.”

The US military’s southern command, which oversees the region, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Militia training

Tensions between the two countries have soared in recent weeks after Washington ordered the biggest naval buildup in the Caribbean in years.

US President Donald Trump has called for targeting Venezuelan drug traffickers in the operation, stepping up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.

The US accuses the leftist leader of heading a cocaine trafficking cartel and recently doubled its bounty for his capture to $50 million.

Earlier this month, US forces blew up an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, killing 11 people.

Trump said the vessel belonged to the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization he tied to Maduro.

It was an unusual use of the US military for what has historically been a law enforcement issue.

Maduro, a leftist firebrand whose last election in 2024 was seen by Washington as illegitimate, has denied links to drug trafficking.

He denounced the US military buildup as “the greatest threat our continent has seen in the last 100 years” and has massed troops along the Caribbean coast and the border with Colombia.

He has also urged Venezuelans to join the country’s civilian militia, which is linked to the armed forces.

On Saturday, volunteers came by bus and car to the huge Fuerte Tiuna military installation in Caracas for weapons training.

Some wore T-shirts identifying their affiliations, like the electric company, public television or “Socialist bikers.” Others came in sportswear.

An elderly man was dressed in camouflage, heading inside with the aid of a walker.

At the 4F fort overlooking Caracas, which is also home to the mausoleum of late president Hugo Chavez, about 200 volunteers learned how to handle Kalashnikov rifles and handguns.

It is “deplorable that the (United States) intends to invade our nation,” said 54-year-old lawyer Jenny Rojas.

“If they try to attack the homeland, the entire population... will defend it,” she told AFP.

“Having (the Kalashnikov) in your hands gives you that pride... When the time comes to take up arms, you will have to do it.”