US President Donald Trump announced that the US military carried out another strike against a suspected drug boat from Venezuela. This marks the second attack in just two weeks, and it happened in international waters. The operation killed three men on board the vessel.
Trump shared the news on social media, saying, “This morning, on my orders, US military forces conducted a second kinetic strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” He stressed that these “extremely violent drug trafficking cartels pose a threat to US national security, foreign policy, and vital US interests.”
Along with his post, Trump included an unclassified video showing a boat on fire in what appear to be unknown waters. The footage highlights the intensity of the US military strike on Venezuelan drug trafficking vessels.
This comes right after the first strike on September 2. Back then, Trump ordered the US military to target another vessel in international waters, allegedly loaded with drugs from Venezuela. That attack killed 11 people, whom Trump called “positively identified Tren de Aragua (TDA) narcoterrorists.” The Tren de Aragua gang is notorious for its role in drug cartels and violence across the region.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro strongly condemned the initial US military action as “unlawful.” He accused Washington of making up stories about Venezuelan drug trafficking to push for regime change in his country. Maduro insisted that Venezuela has no coca cultivation or cocaine production, according to reports from Xinhua news agency.
So far, Venezuela hasn’t responded to this latest US strike on a drug boat. But Maduro spoke out earlier this week at a press conference, revealing that communication channels between the US and Venezuela are now cut off—thanks to what he called “threats and blackmail” from Washington.
Despite the tensions, Maduro said Venezuela has kept the peace amid US provocations. He emphasized that his country will defend itself against any political, diplomatic, or military aggression from the United States.
These back-to-back US military strikes underscore the ongoing battle against drug cartels in the region, with Venezuela caught in the middle of heated US-Venezuela relations.
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