Video: US Strikes Venezuelan Drug Vessel, Trump Says It "Posed A Threat"
The strike was carried out nearly two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.
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The military action against what Trump describes as a Venezuelan narcotics vessel occurred just two weeks after a similar operation.
Washington:
President Donald Trump announced that US military forces targeted a vessel allegedly transporting narcotics from Venezuela on Monday, resulting in three fatalities. He suggested that such military operations against drug cartels might be expanded further.
"The Strike took place when these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters carrying illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) destined for the US," Trump declared in a Truth Social statement regarding the operation. "These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital US Interests."
This military engagement came approximately two weeks following another strike on what the Trump administration identified as a Venezuelan drug-carrying speedboat, which resulted in 11 deaths.
Later Monday in the Oval Office, Trump informed reporters that General Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, had shown him footage of the recent operation.
When questioned about evidence confirming the vessel was transporting drugs, Trump responded, "We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean — big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place."
Trump also indicated that US military operations targeting alleged drug smugglers at sea might extend to land-based operations.
He noted that fewer vessels have been observed in Caribbean waters since the initial strike earlier this month. However, he emphasized that cartels continue to smuggle narcotics over land routes.
"We're telling the cartels right now we're going to be stopping them, too," Trump stated. "When they come by land we're going to be stopping them the same way we stopped the boats. ... But maybe by talking about it a little bit, it won't happen. If it doesn't happen that's good."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later posted on X that the US would "track them, kill them, and dismantle their networks throughout our hemisphere — at the times and places of our choosing," employing rhetoric reminiscent of previous administrations during the Global War on Terror. The White House subsequently shared a brief unclassified video clip of the strike on social media.
The Trump administration has justified these military actions as necessary escalation to combat drug trafficking into the United States.
However, several lawmakers, including Democrats and some Republicans, have expressed concerns about the administration's reasoning and questioned the legality of such operations. They view these actions as potentially overstepping executive authority, particularly because military forces were utilized for law enforcement purposes.
The administration has cited self-defense as legal justification for the first strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing that drug cartels "pose an immediate threat" to national security.
US officials stated that the earlier strike targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Officials indicated that additional military strikes on drug targets would follow as part of America's effort to "wage war" on cartels.
Trump did not specify whether Monday's strike also targeted Tren de Aragua.
Venezuelan authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the reported military action.
The Trump administration has specifically criticized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the influx of illegal drugs into American communities.
Earlier Monday during a press conference, Maduro condemned the US government, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking allegations as pretext for military operations intended "to intimidate and seek regime change" in the South American nation.
Maduro also denounced what he described as a weekend incident where 18 Marines allegedly raided a Venezuelan fishing vessel in the Caribbean.
"What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?" he questioned. "They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking."
In an earlier Fox News interview Monday, Rubio reiterated that the US doesn't recognize Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader but rather views him as heading a drug cartel. Rubio has consistently portrayed Venezuela as representing communist ideology in the Western Hemisphere.
"We're not going to have a cartel, operating or masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere," Rubio stated.
Following the first military strike against an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel, America's top diplomat indicated that Trump planned to "use the U.S. military and all the elements of American power to target cartels who are targeting America."
AP and other news sources reported that the vessel had reversed course and was returning to shore when struck. However, Rubio said Monday he couldn't confirm this account.
"What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up," Rubio declared. "We can't live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can't touch them anymore."