Trump says Venezuelan jets will be shot down if they endanger US ships

BBC News ^ | 09/06/2025 | Danai Nesta Kupemba

[SeekAndFind]

Donald Trump has warned that, if Venezuelan jets fly over US naval ships and "put us in a dangerous position, they'll be shot down".

The president's warning comes after Venezuela flew military aircraft near a US vessel off South America for the second time in two days, US officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

The reports follow a US strike against what Trump officials said was a "drug-carrying vessel from Venezuela" operated by a gang, killing 11 people.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has said that the US allegations about his country are not true, and that differences between the nations do not justify a "military conflict".

"Venezuela has always been willing to talk, to engage in dialogue, but we demand respect," he added.

When asked by reporters in the Oval Office on Friday what would happen if Venezuelan jets flew over US vessels again, Trump said Venezuela would be in "trouble".

Trump told his general, standing beside him, that he could do anything he wanted if the situation escalated.

Since his return to office in January, Trump has steadily intensified his anti-drug-trafficking efforts in Latin America.

Maduro has accused the US of seeking "regime change through military threat".

When asked about the comments, Trump said "we're not talking about that", but mentioned what he called a "very strange election" in Venezuela. Maduro was sworn in for his third term in January after a contested election.

[redfreedom]

no, maybe and hell no.

[Big Red Badger]

Welcome Back!

[adorno]

F-16s.....40+ years old...yeah

Still very deadly weapons.

Ukraine is using them to great advantage against the Russians.

The F-15 is a 50 year old fighter jet, and still considered the most feared jet in the skies.

[waterhill]

Oh yeah. I watched a Lockheed-Martin guy mess around in an F-15 once when I was doing some work out at Fort Worth JRB (Carswell) a few years ago.

Thing is, your pilots better have a good handle on those things. Otherwise it’s just an expensive toy.

[adorno]

Oh yeah. I watched a Lockheed-Martin guy mess around in an F-15 once when I was doing some work out at Fort Worth JRB (Carswell) a few years ago.

The F-15 was built by McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing, not Lockheed-Martin.

Thing is, your pilots better have a good handle on those things. Otherwise it’s just an expensive toy.

Not toys at all. The F-15 has the best record in battle of any fighter jet in use today, with 104 wins/kills to 0 losses. And it's been renewed and improved, with the F-15EX the latest model. And it remains the fastest fighter jet in the Air Force.

[adorno]

Take a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp62hR6J0MM&pp=ygUEZi0xNQ%3D%3D

[waterhill]

It was a 15 and the pilot was a LM engineer in Ft. Worth. LM shares the tarmac with the JRB.

[adorno]

It was a 15 and the pilot was a LM engineer in Ft. Worth. LM shares the tarmac with the JRB.

You made it sound like LM was having a hard time with the F-15. I imagine that for the F-15, there are original=manufacturer consultants to handle the plane's issues and and not LM.

[waterhill]

The LM engineer was former Navy pilot. The JRB has MD/Boeing and LM machines all over the place. It’s not like “hey you can’t park that bird here, we didn’t build it!”.

[waterhill]

He was playing/practicing with it for an air show. They have one every year. It’s a good one...but the one at Dyess is really awesome.