Venezuela says the U.S. intercepted and boarded a Venezuelan tuna vessel in a "hostile" manner.

Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government announced on Saturday that a U.S. destroyer intercepted, boarded and occupied a Venezuelan tuna fishing vessel for eight hours in the waters of the South American country's Special Economic Zone on Friday.

In a statement read by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, the government stated that the vessel was boarded in an illegal and hostile manner, and that it was crewed by nine "humble" fishermen and was "harmless."

The government demanded that the United States immediately cease such actions, which it said puts "the security and peace of the Caribbean at risk."