Latin American country Venezuela said that the United States violated its airspace late Thursday and tagged the act as a “blatant provocation”. The country also added that the air activity was seen as an act of aggression, further warning that it could “respond forcefully”. 

The statements came as the United States is holding joint miltary exercises with Colombian forces near the Caribbean coastline of Venezuela, according to reports from AFP.

According to statements from Venezuela’s defense ministry, a C-17 heavy military transport plane flew into the country’s airspace for three minutes and covered a distance of nearly 14 nautical miles. 

“This blatant provocation took place during joint military exercises by the Colombian Air Force and Army in the Departments of Antioquia and Cundinamarca, respectively, in which there is also a presence of American F-16 and RC135 fighter jets for strategic exploration,” it added, according to reports from AFP.

On July 16, the Colombian Air Force reported joint military training exercises with the United States “with the objective of improving interoperability with allied countries.”

“We are aware that as part of the aforementioned exercises, reconnaissance tasks are being carried out toward Venezuelan geographic space, which is why we do not rule out other possible hostile actions against our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the Venezuelan government.

President Nicolas Maduro “has issued precise orders to remain alert and respond forcefully to any act of aggression,” the text warned.

Venezuela does not have diplomatic relations with the United States and Colombia, a country with which it shares a porous border of more than 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles).

Venezuela shares a bitter relationship with both United States and Colombia after the countries said that Juan Guaido, the opposition leader of Venezuela, was the President. This move harmed the electoral claim made by Nicolas Maduro, who currently holds office.

Nicolas Maduro, on multiple occasions, has said that the countries have plans to either overthrow his rule or assassinate him, according to reports from AFP.