MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US hits another vessel near Venezuela, killing 4

Hegseth posted a video of the attack

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Friday that his country's forces carried out a lethal and kinetic attack ordered by President Donald Trump against a “drug trafficking vessel affiliated with designated terrorist organizations” near the coast of Venezuela.

The suspected ship was in international waters within the jurisdiction of the US Southern Command. “The attack was carried out in international waters, near the coast of Venezuela, while the vessel was transporting substantial quantities of narcotics - destined for the United States to poison our people,” Hegseth wrote on X. In the incident, four alleged “narco-terrorists” on board the vessel were killed, with no US forces injured, bringing the total number of casualties in these operations to 21.

Hegseth argued that intelligence data confirmed the vessel was trafficking “substantial quantities of narcotics” destined for the US and was operating on a known drug trafficking route. “Our intelligence has confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, that the people on board were narco-terrorists, and that they were operating on a known drug trafficking route. These attacks will continue until the attacks on the American people end!!!!” the post added.

In addition, he posted a video of the attack, which showed a small boat exploding and then burning motionless on the water. Trump claimed the boat was “loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE.”

It was the fourth deadly strike in the Caribbean against boats accused of ferrying drugs, with at least three originating from Venezuela.

These strikes are part of what the Trump administration has declared an “armed conflict” with cartels. The President has stated he was treating drug traffickers as unlawful combatants, a move that sets the stage for expanded military action in Latin America without direct congressional sign-off. While an earlier strike was linked by Trump to the Tren de Aragua cartel, subsequent posts, including the one for the latest strike, have not provided details on the specific organizations targeted. At least eight warships and over 5,000 personnel have been deployed to the Caribbean.