US kills 11 people in strike against alleged drug boat from Venezuela

Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that the U.S. carried out an attack in international waters in the southern Caribbean against a vessel that had departed from Venezuela, and which the U.S. government accused of transporting a shipment of drugs to its territory. Eleven people, the occupants of the boat, were killed in the operation, according to the U.S. president.

Pending further details, this would be the most serious incident so far in the heightened tensions between the two countries since the Republican’s return to the White House. Trump accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking to the United States.

“We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time. And we just…these came out of Venezuela, and coming out very heavily from Venezuela," Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office, where he was participating in an event to announce the relocation of the Cyber Command from Colorado to Alabama.

The attack leaves many questions unanswered. The U.S. president stated in a message on social media that the strike that destroyed the boat was carried out on his orders. He also insisted that it had been verified that those traveling on the vessel were drug traffickers. However, he did not specify which law he invoked to give that order in international waters, where the United States has deployed a flotilla with 4,000 marines on the border with Venezuelan national waters.

“When you come out and when you leave the room, you’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat,” said the president.

“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!,” Trump wrote in an extensive post on Truth Social.

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Trump talks about the strike

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the operation in a social media message. “Today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization,” wrote the U.S. diplomatic chief.

The three destroyers off Venezuelan waters are the USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham, and the USS Sampson. They are deployed as part of the Trump administration’s plans to confront threats from drug cartels in Latin America, according to the Pentagon. The presence of the destroyers in these waters is expected to last several months. The deployment includes P-8 reconnaissance aircraft, battleships, and attack submarines.

Trump blames Latin American cartels for the flow of fentanyl and other drugs that, according to him, destroy U.S. communities and cause increased violence in some cities across the country.

In early August, the Republican secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon authorizing the use of military force against cartels that the administration has declared terrorist organizations, The New York Times revealed.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt recently stated that the United States is willing to use “every element of American power” to stop the flow of drugs across its borders and “bring those responsible to justice.”

In response to the U.S. deployment, Venezuela has stationed troops at the border and has called on Venezuelans and militias to enlist to repel a potential foreign military operation. Maduro declared at a press conference with international media on Monday: “If Venezuela is attacked, we would declare armed struggle and a Republic in arms.”

“Venezuela is facing the greatest threat our continent has seen in 100 years,” said Maduro. “There are eight warships with 1,200 missiles, and a nuclear submarine aimed at Venezuela. It’s an extravagant, immoral, and bloody threat. They have sought to advance with maximum military pressure, and we have declared maximum preparedness in Venezuela.”

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