The U.S. military on Tuesday struck a small civilian ship in the Caribbean identified as a Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel. The boat was leaving Venezuelan waters on course for the U.S.
“U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively-identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” President Donald Trump announced on social media Tuesday afternoon. “The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States… Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
The strike, which Trump said killed 11 “terrorists” aboard the boat, is a notable divergence from the usual practice in narcotics interdiction operations of monitoring smuggling craft and then arresting the crew. It is the first major act of the considerable naval forces the Trump administration has deployed in the Caribbean as part of an ongoing anti-cartel operation.
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