WASHINGTON: The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, President Donald Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean.
“We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time ... These came out of Venezuela.” He later shared a video on his Truth Social platform that appeared to show footage from overhead drones of a speedboat at sea exploding and then on fire.
“The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump said. He added that the US military had identified the crew as members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the US designated a terrorist group in February. He repeated allegations that Tren de Aragua is being controlled by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, accusations that Caracas denies.
Venezuela’s Communications Minister, Freddy Nanez, suggested in a post on social media that the video shared by Trump was created with artificial intelligence.
Pentagon chief suggests more operations against cartels coming
The decision to blow up a suspected drug vessel passing through the Caribbean, instead of seizing the vessel and apprehending its crew, is highly unusual and evokes memories of the US fight against militant groups like Al Qaeda.
“‘Being suspected of carrying drugs’ doesn’t carry a death sentence,” said Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, in a post on X.
US warships in Caribbean
The United States has deployed warships in the southern Caribbean in recent weeks with the aim of following through on a pledge by Trump to crack down on drug cartels.
Seven US warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, are either in the region or expected to be there soon, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines.
While US Coast Guard and Navy ships regularly operate in the Southern Caribbean, the current buildup exceeds the usual deployments in the region. In the naval force are warships, including USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale. Some can carry aerial assets like helicopters while others can also deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Pentagon operations
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered.
“We’ve got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships, because this is a deadly serious mission for us, and it won’t stop with just this strike,” Hegseth said on Fox News.
Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025
