U.S. forces patrolling the southern Caribbean fired on a Venezuelan boat that U.S. officials say was linked to drug trafficking. President Donald Trump posted a video to social media of an apparent airstrike on a moving speedboat that he said was carrying a drug shipment.
“We, just over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat. Lot of drugs in that boat,” Trump told reporters at the White House, before hinting that further strikes may be coming. “And there’s more where that came from.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to the attack as “lethal” in a tweet on the attack, and several people are seen in the 3-engine speedboat-style vessel just prior to the strike, which appears to disable and set the boat on fire.
Neither Trump, Rubio nor the Pentagon offered further evidence of the boat’s alleged smuggling nor provided specifics on the attack, including information on what U.S. assets may have been involved or any post-attack word on casualties, survivors or recovered drugs.
Pentagon officials confirmed the attack without offering any details.
“As the President announced today, we can confirm the U.S. military conducted a precision strike against a drug vessel operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization. More information will be made available at a later time,” an emailed release from the Pentagon said.
The attack marks a peak in recent U.S. escalations in the southern Caribbean, where a small fleet of U.S. Navy ships has taken up position in the last month off the coast of Venezuela.
Both Trump and former President Joe Biden refused to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the nation’s legitimate ruler. Maduro has been in power in the country since 2013. His regime has long been linked to violence, fraud and narco-trafficking. Trump drastically increased U.S. agitation of Maduro this year when he named him the head of the Tren de Aragua drug cartel. The federal government designated the group as a terrorist organization.
Notably, in his post, Trump referred to the crew of the boat as “11 terrorists killed in action.”
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The U.S. has recently surged significant naval assets towards Venezuela. The guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie is en route to the southern Caribbean near Venezuela, a Navy official confirmed to Task & Purpose on Saturday.
The USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, was spotted passing through the Panama Canal by reporters from Agence France-Presse on Friday night, heading to the Caribbean. It is set to join three Aegis-class guided-missile destroyers and the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group already in the waters near Venezuela. Those ships and the Marine Expeditionary Unit onboard the ARG were deployed as part of an anti-drug trafficking operation. P-8 surveillance planes are also operating in the Caribbean.
In all, the U.S. has sent ships with thousands of sailors and Marines to waters near Venezuela in recent weeks.
