Does a viral video show the incident where two Venezuelan F-16s flew near an American warship on September 4, 2025? No, that's not true: The video clip in question only shows one F-16 and it has been online since August 30, 2025. This is before both the U.S. airstrike on a boat on September 2, 2025 and reports of two Venezuelan F-16 jets flying near the US Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham on September 4, 2025.
The original video appeared in an Instagram reel (archived here) where it was published by an account under the name "GJ. Domingo Hernández Lárez" on August 30, 2025 with a caption that read:
Operación Escudo Bolivariano "Cangrejo 2025" en la salvaguarda de nuestra soberanía caribeña. ¡Para nosotros primero el suelo nativo que nada!
#IntegrarEsVencer
#ceofanb
#fanbporlapatria
#patria
#FANB
#Venezuela
#compromiso
#paz
#soberanía
@nicolasmaduro
@presidencialve
@padrinovladimir
@tvfanb_ve
According to Google Translate the text part means:
Operation Bolivarian Shield "Crab 2025" safeguards our Caribbean sovereignty. For us, our native soil comes first!
This is what the opening frame of the video looked like:
(Image source: screenshot of post on the dhernandezlarez account on Instagram taken by Lead Stories)
The bio of the account (archived here) identified Lárez as:
Comandante Estratégico Operacional de la FANB @ceofanb
Or, translated:
Strategic Operational Commander of the FANB @ceofanb
The abbreviation FANB stands for "Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana", the armed forces of Venezuela.
According to reporting from Reuters (archived here), the Pentagon reported two Venezuelan F-16 jets came near an American warship on September 4, 2025:
WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Caribbean on Thursday, a U.S. official told Reuters, triggering a stern U.S. warning to Venezuela against interfering in intensifying U.S. military operations in the Caribbean.
The incident, which the Pentagon said occurred in international waters, further raises tensions just two days after a U.S. strike killed 11 people aboard a vessel from Venezuela that President Donald Trump said was carrying illegal narcotics.
That is well after the release of the F-16 video, which also predated the September 2, 2025 announcement by the White House (archived here) about an airstrike on a boat:
🇺🇸 ON VIDEO: U.S. Military Forces conducted a strike against Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists. The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the U.S. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. pic.twitter.com/iszHE0ttxQ
-- The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 2, 2025
