"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces that, on Friday, September 12, the Venezuelan vessel Carmen Rosa, crewed by nine humble tuna fishermen, sailing 48 nautical miles northeast of La Blanquilla Island in waters belonging to the Venezuelan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was illegally and hostilely assaulted by a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), equipped with powerful cruise missiles and manned by highly trained marines.

The warship deployed eighteen armed personnel who boarded and occupied the small and harmless vessel for eight hours, preventing communication and the normal work of the fishermen carrying out an authorized tuna fishing operation, in an action that lacked any strategic proportionality and constituted a direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military force.

Those who give the orders for such provocations are seeking an incident that justifies a military escalation in the Caribbean, with the aim of persisting in their failed and rejected policy of regime change, dismissed even by the American people. By placing their soldiers and officers as cannon fodder and exposing their lives once again, they repeat the history of other events that triggered endless wars such as Vietnam.

The incident reflects the shameful conduct of certain political sectors in Washington who, irresponsibly, commit extremely costly military resources and trained soldiers as instruments to fabricate pretexts for warlike adventures, also undermining their own prestige and military honor by carrying out such a grotesque and disproportionate maneuver.

The Bolivarian National Armed Force, faithful to its constitutional duty, monitored and recorded the incident minute by minute with its aerial, naval, and surveillance resources, accompanying the fishermen at all times until their release, demonstrating Venezuela’s full capacity to monitor, deter, and respond to any threat, without falling into provocations that would tarnish its vocation for peace.

The Venezuelan government demands that the United States immediately cease these actions that endanger the security and peace of the Caribbean, while also calling on the American people to recognize the seriousness of these maneuvers and reject the use of their soldiers as sacrificial pawns to satisfy the ambitions of a greedy and predatory elite.
Our country reaffirms its commitment to peace and will continue defending its sovereignty and the security of its waters against any provocation."

"We denounce this before the national and international community. Yesterday, a Venezuelan fishing vessel was boarded by a U.S. Navy unit. They were humble tuna fishermen, sailing (…) in waters belonging to the Venezuelan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)."

📝 According to the ruling of the Santiago de Cuba municipal people’s court, composed of judges Irina Díaz Delis, Hugo Liens Martínez, and Noelia Rodríguez Martínez, the incident took place on September 5, 2024. The court document states that Estrada Ferrer was approached at that moment by communist counterintelligence officer Mario Raciel Soulary Garcés, who identified himself as a soldier and demanded that the citizen stop filming and hand over his ID.

⁉️ The official version claims the defendant refused to hand over his ID, used “offensive language,” and later “struck the agent during the encounter.” However, according to the OCDH, the narrative “seeks to portray the agent as the victim, when in reality he was the one who violently grabbed Estrada Ferrer and stole his phone.” The entity stressed that “it is common for these agents to intervene with violent repression and then present themselves as victims.”

❌ The NGO also pointed out that the agent’s initial intervention was illegal. The organization noted that filming in a public space does not constitute a crime and is protected under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed by Cuba. For the OCDH, the arrest was arbitrary and the use of force disproportionate.