The Venezuelan government denounced Thursday, October 1 a
"deliberate act of provocation"
on the part of Washington, after an American warship entered the waters under its jurisdiction.
The
USS William P. Lawrence
, a destroyer, entered
"the contiguous zone of Venezuela, at a distance of 16.1 nautical miles
(about 30 km, note)
from the Venezuelan coast"
, affirmed the government of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro in a statement.
Caracas
"denounces the intimidation plan"
of Southern Command (Southcom), which directs US military operations in the Caribbean.
Read also: Venezuela: the common front around Juan Guaido is cracking
According to the document, the crew told Venezuelan authorities that the ship was crossing in the area to conduct
"drug trafficking patrols"
.
"This is a deliberate act of provocation"
on the part of the United States, from which President Donald Trump is trying at all costs to oust his Venezuelan counterpart.
A simple
"operation"
in the name of
"freedom of navigation"
intended to "
challenge the excessive maritime claims of Venezuela in maritime waters,"
a Southcom spokesperson told AFP, adding that the operation,
" peaceful ”
, was done
“ in accordance with international law ”
.
The contiguous zone, located beyond territorial waters, extends up to 24 nautical miles (approximately 44 km) from the coast of a given country.
According to the United Nations, each country has in its contiguous zone prerogatives in customs, fiscal or migration matters.
Venezuela regularly denounces the presence of US military ships in its waters.
In July, he spoke of an
"act of provocation"
when the
USS Pinckney
, a destroyer, had
"stealthily"
entered its contiguous area.
Read also: In Venezuela, tension is mounting between France and the Maduro regime
The United States considers that Nicolas Maduro's presence in power is illegitimate and calls for his overthrow.
Washington and nearly sixty other capitals recognize the opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela.
The successor of Hugo Chavez and several of his collaborators are under the indictments of the American justice for "narcoterrorism".
Washington is offering a bounty of up to $ 15 million for any information that would stop it.
