US strikes narco-terrorist vessel off Venezuela, killing 4, Trump declares war on drug cartels in Caribbean waters. Photo: X.
US has carried out a lethal strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Friday, killing four people, according to reports. War Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a social media post, identified the target as a “narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organisations.”
“Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, which was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics,” Hegseth wrote.
He added that intelligence confirmed the presence of narcotics on board.
“Earlier this morning, on President Trump’s orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organisations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation,” Hegseth said.
Describing the vessel’s mission as a threat to American citizens, he stated, “The people on board were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route. These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!”
The operation is part of a broader campaign following President Donald Trump’s declaration on Thursday, in a letter obtained by AFP, designating drug cartels as unlawful combatants and formally stating that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with them.
The Trump administration has deployed multiple military vessels to the Caribbean Sea to curb drug trafficking, amid escalating tensions with Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolás Maduro.
This is not the first strike of its kind. Last month, the U.S. military targeted another boat allegedly carrying narcotics from Venezuela, killing three people aboard.
Trump has repeatedly justified such actions by citing the threat posed by violent drug trafficking cartels to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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