Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. military carried out a “lethal” strike against a drug vessel in the southern Caribbean. Rubio stated, “As @potus just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Carribean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization.” Details about the vessel’s operators remain unclear.
The operation follows the U.S. decision last month to increase naval presence near Venezuela, deploying three warships to the region as part of an anti-drug cartel mission. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the move, calling the ships an “extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.” The Trump administration has previously accused Maduro’s government of collaborating with drug cartels to traffic narcotics to the U.S.
President Trump described the strike as the U.S. military “shooting out” a drug-carrying boat from Venezuela. Meanwhile, Maduro’s government has deployed troops along Venezuela’s coast and border with Colombia, urging citizens to join a civilian militia. Maduro has dismissed the U.S. narrative, claiming it is a fabricated effort to undermine his leadership. He cited a United Nations report suggesting only 5% of Colombian cocaine transits through Venezuela, emphasizing that Bolivia and Colombia, as Pacific and Caribbean-accessible nations, are the primary cocaine producers.
Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the strike.