WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegses on Friday ordered another strike on a small ship accusing him of carrying drugs in waters off Venezuela, expanding what the Trump administration has declared. “Armous Conflict” with the Cartel.
In his post, Hegseth said, “Our intelligence confirmed that this vessel was undoubtedly a drug trafficking, and the people on board were narcoterrorists and they were operating on known drug trafficking transit routes.”
It was the fourth deadly strike in the Caribbean, the latest since the revelation that President Donald Trump told lawmakers he was treating drug traffickers as illegal combatants, and told military force was necessary to fight them. The presidential argument sets the stage for expanded action in Latin America, raising questions about how far the administration will go without signing off from Congress.
In a social media post, Trump said the boat was “packed with enough drugs to kill 25 to 50,000 people,” implying that it would “enter America’s territory” off the coast of Venezuela.
According to a post by Hegseth, the Friday morning strike killed four men, but did not provide details about who they are or the organization they belong to. According to the Trump administration, four strikes have claimed 21 lives.
In a post about the first strike, Trump claimed that the ship was carrying members of the Tren de Aragua Cartel. However, all subsequent strike posts, including Friday, do not provide details about the organization the organization was targeted to.
Trump has designated several Latin American drug cartels as Foreign terrorist organizationshowever, Pentagon officials were unable to provide a list of designated terrorist organizations at the heart of the conflict.
In a video of the strike posted online, a sudden explosion caused a small boat to move with open water, splashing water around. When the smoke from the explosion is clear, the boat is visible, consumed by flames, floating motionlessly on the water.
Last month, the US military carried out three other units. Fatal strike against a boat In the Caribbean, the government accused them of carrying drugs.
The strike has led to at least three of these operations being carried out on vessels born from Venezuela.
Those strikes followed a Accumulation of our marine forces In the Caribbean it is different from the most recent ones.
The naval presence in the area — eight warships with more than 5,000 sailors and Marines — has been pretty stable for several weeks, according to two defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operation.
When asked for details about the strike, Pentagon officials featured the Associated Press in a Hegses post about social media.
