WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. 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 U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump said.
He added that the U.S. military had identified the crew as members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. 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.
Reuters conducted initial checks on the video, including a review of its visual elements using a manipulation detection tool which did not show evidence of manipulation. However, thorough verification is an ongoing process, and Reuters will continue to review the footage as more information becomes available.
The Pentagon has not released specifics about the attack, including what kind of drugs were on board, the quantity, or how the strike was carried out.
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 U.S. 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.
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.
Tuesday’s strike appeared to be the first such military operation in the region to that effect.
Seven U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
The U.S. military has also been flying P-8 spy planes in the region to gather intelligence, U.S. officials have said. They have been flying over international waters.
Speaking to reporters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “These particular drugs were probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean.”
“Suffice it to say that the president is going to be on offense against drug cartels and drug trafficking in the United States.”
Trump’s singling out of Maduro has raised alarms in Caracas that their government might be the real target.
Last month, the United States doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro to $50 million, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups.
Venezuelan officials have repeatedly said that Tren de Aragua is no longer active in their country after they dismantled it during a prison raid in 2023.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; additional reporting by Vivian Sequera and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas and Kylie Madry in Mexico City; Writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by Howard Goller, Rosalba O’Brien and Stephen Coates)
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