War Secretary Pete Hegseth made the announcement in a statement on X that included unclassified footage of the deadly strike.
Trump denies approving strikes on Venezuela but overwhelming military presence suggests more to come“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization in the Caribbean.
This vessel — like EVERY OTHER — was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. All three terrorists were killed, and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike,” he said. The strike is at least the 16th the U.S. has conducted this year on alleged drug vessels operating in either the Caribbean or Eastern Pacific, bringing the death toll to well over 60. The Trump administration has insisted that all intelligence indicates these are drug smuggling vessels, though they have yet to publicly release such evidence. The latest strike comes as the Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Venezuela and its dictator, Nicolas Maduro, over drug cartels operating in the South American country., the largest aircraft carrier in the world. President Donald Trump has also authorized CIA operations within Venezuela, as well as floating the idea of land strikes.That latter prospect was met with stiff resistance from U.S. officials ahead of the weekend, after reporting emerged that Trump approved strikes in Venezuela.
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