The U.S. military has destroyed a drug vessel that was allegedly heading to the US in international waters, President Donald Trump said Monday.
He revealed that three men had died during the attack on “violent drug trafficking cartels.” Meanwhile, he did not present any proof that the boat had drugs.
His Venezuelan equivalent, Nicolas Maduro, had earlier said that Caracas would retaliate against U.S. aggression, referring to the US top diplomat Marco Rubio as the “lord of death and war.”
The conflict between the two nations was further aggravated when the US sent its warships to the southern Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations in the region and conducted a strike that left 11 individuals dead.
On Truth Social, President Trump said: “This morning, on my orders, US military forces conducted a second kinetic strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists.” He also adds, “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels pose a threat to US national security.”
It also featured a nearly 30-second video clip, which seemed to depict a ship in a water body that exploded, erupting into flames.
Later in the Oval Office, Trump stated that there was proof and evidence on record concerning the origin of the boats to the narco-terrorist groups.
President Trump, in this context, added that, “All you have to do is look at the cargo – it was spattered all over the ocean – big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place, we recorded them. It was very careful, because we know you people would be after us. We’re very careful.”
Trump stated that the sea drug trafficking to the US had reduced as part of the new courses, but admitted that narcotics were still being trafficked into the country overland. He said, “We’re telling the cartels right now, we’re going to be stopping them too.”
Rubio had previously, on Monday, defended the initial attack on a boat reportedly transporting Venezuela-bound drugs that had killed all 11 individuals on board, claiming that Washington had “100% fidelity and certainty” that the ship was trafficking drugs to the US.
In another interview on Fox News, he states, “What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up.” He added that Maduro has “a direct threat to the national security” of the US due to his alleged involvement in drug trafficking.”
On Monday, Maduro stated that the US relationships had “been destroyed by their bomb threats”. He adds, “We have moved from a period of battered relations to a completely broken one”.
The Venezuelan president stated that the government would exercise its legitimate right to defend itself to the full extent.
Legal analysts have reported that the lethal attack on the first ship in international waters could potentially have infringed on international human rights and maritime law.
On Sunday, Trump was questioned by a journalist, “Start doing strikes on mainland Venezuela”, and Trump replied to the question, answering: “We will see what happens.”
The president had told reporters in New Jersey that Venezuela was “sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs”. He stated that maritime traffic in the southern Caribbean had decreased considerably “since the first strike.”
The attack on the so-called drug boat on 2 September was questioned by experts regarding its legality, as they claimed that the attack may have been against international law. Two days later, Venezuela retaliated by sending two F-16 fighter jets to fly over a US Navy destroyer.
That prompted President Trump to alert that any Venezuelan jet that places “us in a dangerous situation” would be shot down.
After the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil alleged that US forces boarded a Venezuelan ship, tensions escalated once more on Saturday following a short pause. This was how Gil stated that the seizure of the vessel, which was, according to him, a “small, harmless” fishing boat, was “illegally and hostilely” taken during eight hours.
The Venezuelan foreign ministry, in a statement, attributed the seizure order to those who sought the seizure to “looking for an incident to justify escalating war in the Caribbean, with the aim of regime change” in Caracas.
The re-election of Maduro in July 2024 has not been recognised by the US and most other countries, including the UK, citing evidence compiled by the opposition with the assistance of independent observers that their rival, Edmundo Gonzales, had won the election by a landslide.
Maduro has also been accused by the US officials of being the head of a drug cartel, known as the Cartel of the Suns, and has even offered a reward of $50 million (£37m) for information that would lead to his capture.
Maduro has refuted the claims and has claimed that the US has been on an “imperialist move” to overthrow him. Employees in the public sector have complained that they have been coerced into the militia.
