The US forces targeted a drug boat in international waters near the coast of Venezuela
US President Donald Trump announced Friday that US forces had targeted another drug-smuggling boat in international waters, killing three people.
Unlike previous attacks, Trump didn’t reveal whether the strike occurred off the coast of Venezuela, where the US Navy has deployed warships and submarines to combat drug trafficking.
He only said that it fell within the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command, which includes Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.
Trump said on Truth Social regarding the alleged new attack, that US intelligence had confirmed the boat was carrying drugs and was on its way “through a known smuggling route to poison Americans”.
The post included a video of a speedboat being shot at before it exploded and caught fire.
Trump wrote, “The strike killed three narco-terrorists aboard a boat sailing in international waters… No US forces were harmed in this strike”.
The US military’s deployment of eight warships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the southern Caribbean, in addition to sending ten fighter jets to neighboring Puerto Rico, has been met with widespread condemnation in Latin America and raised fears of a US attack on Venezuela.
It also raised controversy over the legality of the killings, as US law doesn’t impose the death penalty for drug trafficking.
Washington didn’t provide any details to support its allegations that the targeted boats were trafficking drugs.
Leftist Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of seeking regime change in his country under the guise of an anti-drug operation.
Trump previously stated that the United States targeted three boats and killed 14 people as part of its campaign, but his administration has released videos of only two attacks.
