In a series of strikes that are escalating tensions in the Caribbean, the U.S. military carried out another strike against a vessel that Pentagon officials say was involved in drug trafficking. Venezuelan authorities called the operation a killing, raising concerns about a possible further escalation with Caracas.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the strike, claiming the vessel was operated by a group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, though he did not name the group. He said three people were killed in the attack.
“This vessel like EVERY OTHER was known to our intelligence as being involved in illegal narcotics trafficking, was transiting a known drug-smuggling route and was carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said.
According to reports, this is at least the 15th U.S. strike in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September operations that Venezuela has labeled killings and whose legal justification remains unclear. At least 64 people have reportedly been killed so far in the air and maritime strikes.
The rhetoric from the White House, together with the presence of U.S. naval vessels in the region, has raised questions about the risk of an armed confrontation between the United States and Venezuela. U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly demanded more information from the Trump administration about the legal basis for the strikes and details on the cartels or groups said to be targeted.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans in their own country — and they will not succeed,” Hegseth said, adding that the Department will treat them “EXACTLY as we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track, map, pursue and kill them.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of running an organized crime syndicate and declined to answer when asked whether the CIA has authority to target him.
Authorities and political actors have called for transparency and a clear legal justification for the operations as well as for identification of the actors involved, while Venezuela’s responses to U.S. actions remain strong and condemnatory.
Below is the Pentagon announcement excerpt shared by Secretary Hegseth on social media:
“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean.
This vessel—like EVERY OTHER—was known by our intelligence to be…”
