U.S. naval forces in the Caribbean have sunk a third alleged drug-running boat off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
“We knocked off, actually, three boats – not two – but you saw two,” Trump said on the White House lawn, following the release of footage Monday showing three alleged drug smugglers being killed in a U.S. airstrike. That came after a strike on Sept. 2, in which 11 people aboard a similar vessel were reportedly killed.
The president did not say how many people were killed in the third strike.
The president was responding to statements by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who accused the U.S. of plotting an invasion of his country.
“Stop sending members of the Tren de Aragua to the United States. Stop sending drugs to the United States,” Trump said.
The latest announcement came a day after the president posted on social media that U.S. forces had attacked a boat leaving Venezuela, killing three individuals he referred to as “terrorists.” Later that day, from the Oval Office, he stated that the targeted vessel had been carrying cocaine and fentanyl.
On Sept. 2, Trump had announced a similar U.S. strike against another alleged drug-smuggling boat originating from Venezuela, resulting in the deaths of 11 people.
The military operations come amid escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela, following the deployment of U.S. military forces to the Caribbean Sea under the banner of combating drug trafficking.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns – a claim denied by the Caracas government – and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.
On Monday, Maduro declared that communications with the United States have “broken down” in response to what he characterized as “aggression.” He added that Venezuela is now “more prepared” in the event of an “armed struggle.”
In announcing on Monday that a second boat had been destroyed, Trump said the U.S. had “positively identified extraordinarily violent drug trafficking groups operating from Venezuela,” and that the vessel was operated by three “narcoterrorists” transporting drugs through international waters.
The president also warned on his Truth Social website that such operations would continue. “BE WARNED – IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!”
Trump framed the military action as a matter of national security and foreign policy. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests,” he wrote on his TruthSocial account, asserting that illicit narcotics have caused “DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens. NO LONGER.”
The president’s statements immediately raised legal and diplomatic concerns – primarily because the attacks appeared to target civilians, despite the administration’s classification of those killed as narcoterrorists.
International law and U.S. statutes place limits on the use of force outside declared war zones. Killing civilians is considered a war crime unless they pose an immediate lethal threat and no other means are available to stop them.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas have intensified in recent weeks following Trump’s decision to deploy a substantial U.S. military force aimed at combating drug cartels in the Caribbean. The administration has increasingly portrayed its anti-narcotics campaign as a top national defense priority.
The U.S. deployment includes eight warships – some with amphibious assault capabilities – F-35 fighter jets, and approximately 4,500 personnel. The scale and sophistication of the operation have raised concerns across the region, with some experts comparing it to “bringing a howitzer to a knife fight.” It represents the largest U.S. military show of force in the Caribbean in decades.
© 2025 Miami Herald.
Visit at miamiherald.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
