US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that American forces carried out a “kinetic” strike on a small boat allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela, killing 11 people.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump shared black-and-white aerial footage of the strike, declaring: “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
The incident marks the first known US military attack on alleged drug smugglers since Trump ordered a surge of US naval forces into the Caribbean last month, a move that has already heightened tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Oval Office announcement
Trump first revealed the strike during a press briefing at the Oval Office, where he was flanked by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“When you come out and when you leave the room, you’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat,” Trump told reporters. “A lot of drugs in that boat … These came out of Venezuela.”
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed that the strike took place in the “southern Caribbean” but did not provide further details.
Military buildup
According to Reuters, seven US warships and one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine are already operating in the region or are expected to arrive soon, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines.
In response, Maduro has deployed additional forces to Venezuela’s coast and warned he would “declare a republic in arms” if the country came under attack.
The Venezuelan leader, who has long accused Washington of plotting regime change, said on Monday that Trump was “seeking a regime change through military threat.”
Accusations and intelligence gaps
Trump linked the destroyed boat to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organisation. However, a declassified National Intelligence Council report in May found that Maduro’s government “probably does not have a policy of cooperating with” the group and was not directly directing its operations, though Venezuela provides a “permissive environment” for the gang.
Despite those findings, Trump has revived the “maximum pressure” strategy against Maduro after briefly signalling openness to dialogue at the start of his second term.
Regional concern
Venezuelan officials have urged the United Nations to demand an end to the US military buildup, warning of spiralling conflict in the Caribbean. Maduro’s government did not immediately comment on the latest strike.
The attack underscores the risk of escalation as Washington pairs its counternarcotics agenda with military action, a shift that could redraw US engagement with Latin America.
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