US President Donald Trump has confirmed that American forces carried out a strike on a boat allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela, killing 11 people.
Trump announced the operation on Truth Social, posting aerial footage and writing: “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US forces were harmed. Let this be a warning to anyone thinking of bringing drugs into the United States. BEWARE!”
The strike is the first of its kind since Trump ordered a surge of US naval forces into the Caribbean last month, a move that has already escalated tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking at the Oval Office with Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump told reporters: “We just, literally minutes ago, shot out a boat carrying drugs out of Venezuela. There were a lot of drugs in that boat.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed the strike took place in the southern Caribbean, though no further details were provided.
The US currently has seven warships and a nuclear-powered submarine deployed in the region with more than 4,500 sailors and Marines. In response, Maduro has reinforced Venezuela’s coastline and warned he would declare a “republic in arms” if attacked.
Trump linked the targeted boat to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by Washington as a terrorist organization. However, a recent US intelligence report suggested that while Venezuela provides a permissive environment for the gang, Maduro’s government is not directly coordinating with it.
Venezuelan officials have called on the United Nations to intervene and stop the US military buildup, warning of a possible conflict. Caracas has not yet issued an official response to the latest strike.
The move underscores Washington’s growing use of military force in its counternarcotics strategy — a shift that could further reshape US policy in Latin America and deepen its standoff with Venezuela.
