WASHINGTON – The United States carried out another deadly strike on a boat near the coast of Venezuela on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. According to him, the four men on board were involved in drug trafficking and were killed in the attack. It is the fourth such strike in the Caribbean Sea since September.
Hegseth said on social media that it was a “narco-trafficking vessel” and that the operation took place in international waters. He shared a video showing the boat being hit by projectiles and then exploding. No evidence was provided for the presence of drugs or the identities of the men. President Donald Trump, without offering details, claimed the boat was carrying enough drugs “to kill 25,000 to 50,000 people.”
The strikes are part of a broader U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean, involving eight warships, thousands of Marines, and a nuclear-powered submarine. While U.S. Coast Guard operations traditionally focused on drug interdictions, the Trump administration now refers to an “armed conflict” with drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations. Smugglers are being labeled as “unlawful combatants.”
This legal reasoning has drawn strong criticism in Washington. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican who has often criticized Trump’s military policies, called the strategy “a terrible policy” and argued that only Congress can declare war.
International reactions have also been sharp. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned of a state of emergency, while his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro described the strike as “murder of poor Caribbean youth.”
With Friday’s four deaths, the number of people killed in U.S. strikes in the region has risen to 21.
