According to President Donald Trump, a suspected Venezuelan cocaine ship that was en route to the US in international waters was destroyed by the US Navy.
Trump claimed on Monday that the attack on “violent drug trafficking cartels” had killed three individuals. He offered no proof that drugs were on board the boat.
Shortly earlier, Nicolás Maduro, his Venezuelan counterpart, referred to Marco Rubio, the top ambassador for the United States, as the “lord of death and war” and declared that Caracas would defend itself against US “aggression.”
After the US sent warships to the southern Caribbean for what officials claimed were counter-narcotics operations and carried out an attack that killed eleven people, tensions between the two nations increased.
“This morning, on my orders, US military forces conducted a second kinetic strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels pose a threat to US national security.”
A almost 30-second video that seemed to depict a vessel in a body of water exploding and then bursting into flames was also included in the post. Later, Trump stated from the Oval Office that the United States has documented proof and evidence indicating the vessels were owned by narco-terrorist organizations.
“All you have to do is look at the cargo – it was spattered all over the ocean – big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place,” he said. “We recorded them. It was very careful, because we know you people would be after us. We’re very careful.”
Trump went on to assert that drug trafficking to the US by sea had decreased under recent efforts, but acknowledged that narcotics were still entering the country by land.
“We’re telling the cartels right now, we’re going to be stopping them too,” he said.
Trump went on to assert that drug trafficking to the US by sea had decreased under recent efforts, but acknowledged that narcotics were still entering the country by land.
