US strike off Venezuelan coast kills 6 ‘narcoterrorists,’ Trump says
A U.S. strike off the coast of Venezuela killed six suspected drug traffickers, President Donald Trump announced, calling it part of a broader campaign against “narcoterrorist networks.”
A US strike on a vessel off the coast of Venezuela killed six suspected drug traffickers on Tuesday (October 14), President Donald Trump announced, marking the latest in a series of military actions in the region.
“Under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief, this morning, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO),” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said the strike targeted a boat “conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela.”
‘Six narcoterrorists killed’ in the strike
Trump said intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics and linked to “illicit narcoterrorist networks.”
“The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. No U.S. Forces were harmed,” he added.
A 30-second video Trump posted showed what appeared to be a stationary vessel hit by a projectile before exploding.
Legally contentious military expansion
The operation reflects Trump’s widening use of military power, often in legally ambiguous ways. His administration has authorized strikes not only against terrorist groups but also drug traffickers, blurring the line between counterterrorism and counternarcotics.
The Pentagon recently told Congress that Trump has determined the US is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Military buildup in the Southern Caribbean
The strike comes amid a significant US military buildup in the region.
There are currently eight US warships deployed in the southern Caribbean, along with F-35 aircraft stationed in Puerto Rico and one nuclear-powered submarine. Thousands of sailors and marines are reportedly involved in the operation.
The administration has now hit at least six boats since early September, claiming they were carrying narcotics bound for the United States.
Rising tensions with Maduro regime
The escalation has fueled tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has accused Washington of trying to oust him.
Maduro has responded by ordering military exercises and placing Venezuelan forces on alert.