The incident on Thursday, which the Pentagon said occurred in international waters, further raises tensions two days after a US strike killed 11 people aboard a vessel from Venezuela that President Donald Trump said was carrying illegal narcotics.
Legal experts have raised questions about the attack, despite the Trump administration arguments that it has the authority to strike alleged members of criminal gang Tren de Aragua trafficking drugs to the United States after Washington designated it terrorist organisation earlier in 2025.
In a terse statement confirming only the broad outlines of the incident, the Pentagon equated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government to a narco-trafficking cartel, allegations Caracas denies. Trump has accused Maduro of running Tren de Aragua.
"Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters," the Pentagon said in a statement, calling it a "highly provocative move".
"The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the US military."
Venezuela's Communications Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Venezuelan military aircraft were F-16s and that they flew over the USS Jason Dunham.
The Dunham is one of at least seven US warships deployed to the Caribbean, carrying more than 4500 sailors and Marines, in a military build-up that has drawn concern from Caracas.
US Marines and sailors from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have also been carrying out amphibious training and flight operations in southern Puerto Rico.
Trump's decision to blow up a suspected drug vessel passing through the Caribbean, instead of seizing the vessel and apprehending its crew, is highly unusual and evokes memories of the US fight against militant groups like al-Qaeda.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the strike in comments to reporters earlier on Thursday and vowed such activities would continue, citing the threat that illegal narcotics pose to public health in the United States.
"The poisoning of the American people is over," Hegseth said.
Democrat congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemned what she called Trump's "lawless" actions in the southern Caribbean.
"Congress has not declared war on Venezuela, or Tren de Aragua, and the mere designation of a group as a terrorist organisation does not give any President carte blanche to ignore Congress's clear Constitutional authority on matters of war and peace," Omar said in a statement.
