- A U.S. military operation resulted in the death of four narco-traffickers onboard a vessel.
- The strike was conducted in international waters under presidential orders.
- President Trump said the vessel's cargo could kill thousands of Americans.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday announced that the U.S. military conducted a strike on a narcotrafficking vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing four men aboard.
This strike occurred one day after the Trump administration told Congress that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
According to Fox News, Hegseth said that no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation.
In a post on X Hegseth wrote: “Earlier this morning, on President Trump’s orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.”
He added that the strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela on a vessel that was transporting “substantial amounts” of narcotics that were headed to America.
“Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route. These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!” the post continued.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote that “A boat loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE was stopped, early this morning off the Coast of Venezuela, from entering American Territory.”
Friday’s strike follows a series of three hits conducted in September on boats suspected of carrying narcotics, per Fox News.
A strike on Sept. 2 on a boat linked to Tren de Aragua in the southern Caribbean killed 11 suspected gang members. There were subsequent strikes on Sept. 15 and 19 that killed a total of six people.
The U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility covers most of South America and the Caribbean, per BBC.
There has been no immediate response to Friday’s strike from Venezuela. It’s president, Nicolás Maduro, previously condemned the U.S. strikes and said his country will defend itself against U.S. “aggression,” according to BBC.