President Donald Trump announced that US military forces have carried out a strike against a drug-carrying vessel in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 suspected members of Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the boat, which was operating in international waters, was transporting narcotics bound for the United States. “A lot of drugs in that boat,” he remarked, adding that he was briefed by General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Trump later posted on Truth Social: “Earlier this morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed.”
His post was accompanied by aerial footage showing a motorboat speeding across rough waters before erupting into flames. Venezuela’s communications minister, Freddy Ñáñez, dismissed the video as AI-generated, though Reuters said its initial review had found no evidence of manipulation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the operation, stating on X: “Today the US 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 organisation.”
Rising Tensions with Caracas
The strike underscores escalating US pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom Washington accuses of protecting drug cartels. The Trump administration has recently offered a $50 million reward for Maduro’s arrest on drug-trafficking charges and designated several Latin American criminal groups as terrorist organisations.
Venezuela has reacted angrily to the military build-up. On Monday, Maduro warned he would “declare a republic in arms” if attacked, calling recent US naval deployments “the greatest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years.”
Despite the confrontation, the Trump administration has quietly allowed Chevron to continue joint operations with Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA oil company.
The incident marks one of the most direct US military actions against suspected Venezuelan traffickers in recent years. Trump, warning cartels and gangs, declared: “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
