MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US sinks alleged drug-trafficking boat in Caribbean, killing 11

“Let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the US,” Trump warned

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a “kinetic strike” on a vessel from Venezuela that was allegedly transporting illegal narcotics. The attack, the first of its kind since the US deployed warships to the southern Caribbean, resulted in the deaths of 11 people.

Trump stated that the vessel was a speedboat carrying a “lot of drugs.” He shared a video on social media showing an overhead view of the boat exploding and on fire. He identified the crew as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the US designated as a terrorist group.

US military kills 11 in strike on drug boat tied to a Venezuelan cartel. Trump administration's war on drugs just escalated into direct military action in Latin America.

Venezuela is not controlled by a government; it has been taken over by a narco-terrorist cartel, El Cartel… pic.twitter.com/gOzXzUmcW5

— Ingrid McKenzie (@IngridKellaghan) September 2, 2025

“We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat,” Trump explained. “And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time Ö These came out of Venezuela,” he added. “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this strike.”

The Republican leader insisted that the gang is controlled by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which Caracas has repeatedly denied. The US has recently increased its naval presence in the region to combat drug trafficking, a move that Maduro has responded to by deploying his own troops and calling on citizens to join a militia.

The decision to destroy the vessel and kill the crew instead of apprehending them has been described as highly unusual for a drug interdiction operation. “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America,” Trump also posted on social media.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the operation was part of the administration's plan to go “on offense against drug cartels.” Rubio also pointed out that “these particular drugs were probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean.” He also warned that ”the president is going to be on offense against drug cartels and drug trafficking in the United States.”

Last month, the US doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro to US$50 million. Caracas claims that Washington was building a false drug-trafficking narrative to topple him.