“This morning, the U.S. Secretary of Defense ordered an attack on a vessel linked to a gang designated as a terrorist organization, engaged in narcotics trafficking off the Venezuelan coast, within the area of responsibility of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM),” Trump said on October 14.
Video footage released by the president shows the boat apparently stationary on the water before being struck by a missile, which triggered a massive explosion and fire. According to Trump, U.S. intelligence confirmed that the vessel was transporting narcotics along a known smuggling route. The strike occurred in international waters, killing all six people on board, while no U.S. personnel were injured.
This marks the fifth U.S. strike on suspected drug-smuggling vessels at sea, with a total of 27 people killed. The U.S. government has released few details about previous operations, sharing only short video clips and casualty figures.
The Pentagon recently informed Congress that President Trump had determined the United States is “engaged in a non-international armed conflict” with transnational criminal organizations. Trump defended his anti-drug campaign as highly effective and suggested expanding military operations to target land-based trafficking routes.
The maritime strikes have drawn international criticism. Some former U.S. military lawyers argue that killing drug suspects at sea rather than capturing them violates the laws of war. Washington has yet to provide public evidence that the targeted boats were indeed carrying narcotics. Experts have described such actions as potentially illegal, even if the vessels were involved in smuggling.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on October 8 that Colombian citizens were among those killed in an earlier strike, urging families of the victims to come forward. He warned that the U.S. campaign risked opening a new conflict zone in the Caribbean.
The White House rejected Petro’s allegations, calling them “baseless and irresponsible,” and urged him to withdraw the remarks to restore constructive dialogue “for a stronger and more prosperous future for the peoples of the United States and Colombia.”
The U.S. has deployed 10 stealth fighter jets, 8 warships, and 4,500 Marines to the southern Caribbean to combat drug cartels — one of the largest American military deployments to the region in recent years.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the buildup as “the greatest threat to Venezuela in a century,” vowing to defend national sovereignty and ordering the mobilization of regular and reserve forces in response.