Trump Says US Military Carried Out Second Strike On Venezuelan Drug Boat, Killing Three

Last Updated:September 16, 2025, 08:17 IST

The president’s post also included a 30-second clip, marked “Unclassified,” appearing to show a small vessel exploding and catching fire in open waters.

Trump, speaking with reporters on Monday, suggested that operations could also be conducted on land.(Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that American forces carried out a strike on what he described as a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel bound for the United States, the second such operation in recent weeks.

Trump said three men were killed in the strike, which he claimed took place in international waters, though he provided no independent evidence that the vessel was carrying narcotics.

“This morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Calling the cartels “extremely violent" and a threat to US national security and foreign policy, Trump stressed that the operation was conducted under U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees military operations across 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

The president’s post also included a 30-second clip, marked “Unclassified," appearing to show a small vessel exploding and catching fire in open waters. Later in the day, Trump insisted the boat had been carrying narcotics. “We have proof, all you have to do is look at the cargo that was … spattered all over the ocean, big bags of cocaine and fentanyl," he said.

Reuters reported that an initial AI-based review of the video was inconclusive due to blurring, and a full verification process is ongoing. The Venezuelan communications ministry has not responded to requests for comment.

The strike coincides with a significant U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean. On Saturday, five F-35 fighter jets landed in Puerto Rico, part of a deployment of 10 stealth aircraft ordered by the administration. At least seven U.S. warships and one nuclear-powered submarine are also present in the region.

Strike Can Also Happen On Land: Trump

Trump, speaking with reporters on Monday, suggested that operations could also be conducted on land against suspected drug smugglers.

“When they come by land, we’re going to be stopping them the same way we stopped the boats," Trump said. “But maybe by talking about it a little bit, it won’t happen."

Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told sailors and Marines on a warship off Puerto Rico that they were not deployed to the Caribbean for training but instead sent to the “front lines" of a critical counter-narcotics mission.

On Monday, Hegseth, in a post on X, suggested an expansive mission for the U.S. military against drug traffickers: “We will track them, kill them, and dismantle their networks throughout our hemisphere—at the times and places of our choosing."

News world Trump Says US Military Carried Out Second Strike On Venezuelan Drug Boat, Killing Three

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