Trump administration escalates pressure on Venezuela with deadly naval operation

US President Donald Trump announced that the US conducted a strike on a drug-carrying vessel in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 “narco-terrorists.”

Trump wrote on social media that the US military operation, conducted on Tuesday, targeted members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Trump claimed the vessel was in international waters and was carrying illegal drugs destined for the US.

The Trump administration has increased military and political pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks. This pressure includes a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest on drug trafficking charges.

Maduro has said that Venezuela will fight against any US attempt at military intervention.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said US forces hit a “drug-carrying boat” near Venezuela, adding, “There were a lot of drugs on that boat.”

Trump added that he was briefed on the incident by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.

The president later shared the following message on the Truth Social platform:

“Early this morning, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narco-Terrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed. No US military personnel were harmed in this strike. Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks of bringing drugs into the United States. BEWARE!”

His post was accompanied by a low-quality aerial video showing a motorboat speeding through choppy waters engulfed in flames.

Venezuelan Minister of Communication Freddy Ñáñez suggested in a social media post that the video shared by Trump was generated by artificial intelligence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X, “Today, the US military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean on a drug vessel operated by a designated terrorist drug trafficking organization that had departed from Venezuela.”

There is no information yet on what drugs the vessel was carrying.

Since returning to the White House in January, the Trump administration has designated several drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups in Mexico and other parts of Latin America as “terrorist organizations.”

These include Tren de Aragua and another Venezuelan group, the “Cartel of the Suns.”

US officials allege that this group is led by Maduro and other high-ranking government officials, some from the country’s military or intelligence services.

The US military has moved to reinforce its forces in the southern Caribbean over the past two months, deploying additional naval vessels and thousands of US Marines and sailors to the region.

The Trump administration has repeatedly stated its readiness to use force to stop the flow of drugs into the US.

Trump said “more is to come” regarding the strike on the vessel.

The US naval deployment near Venezuela includes Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, USS Sampson), a guided-missile cruiser (USS Lake Erie), and a nuclear-powered attack submarine (USS Newport News).

The Venezuelan government has reacted to these military deployments. On Monday, Maduro said he would “declare an armed republic” if the US attacks, adding that the US deployments are the “greatest threat” seen on the Latin American continent in the last 100 years.

Venezuela has also begun forming a militia force to counter a possible American invasion. Maduro also said that an American intervention would mean “war across the entire continent.”