Washington (United States), September 16 (Patrika English News): US President Donald J. Trump on Monday confirmed that America’s campaign against Venezuelan drug cartels is continuing, with the military launching its second strike this month on a drug-laden boat. The operation, carried out in international waters, resulted in the killing of three people.
Trump said in a social media post that the mission aimed to stop Venezuelan cartels from pushing fentanyl shipments into the US “at any cost.” He wrote that the strike was ordered under his command in the US Southern Command (Southcom) area of responsibility, targeting what he described as “an extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartel and narcoterrorists.”
A 27-second video posted by Trump showed aerial surveillance footage, with a speedboat bouncing on waves before being hit by a massive explosion.
The Pentagon declined to provide further details, citing Trump’s post, though a defense official confirmed it was a “special operation.”
Earlier, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had condemned the September 2 strike as a “heinous crime” and a “military attack on civilians,” arguing that suspects should have been arrested instead of killed.
Meanwhile, eight US Navy warships remain deployed in the Caribbean, with the Pentagon also ordering armed MQ-9 Reaper drones and F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Kane reportedly made an unannounced visit there last week.
The latest strike has sparked political criticism in Washington. Senior Democrat Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island called Trump’s actions “a blatant violation of the law and a dangerous assault on the Constitution,” adding that “no president can secretly wage war or conduct unlawful killings — this is authoritarianism, not democracy.”
In February, the US State Department designated Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as a terrorist organization. Trump has repeatedly accused President Maduro of leading the cartel, calling it “perhaps the worst gang in the WORLD.”
