US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US military carried out a strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel that had been on its way to the United States, the second such strike carried out against a suspected drug boat in recent weeks.
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He said three men were killed in the strike, adding that it took place in international waters. Trump provided no evidence for his assertion that the boat was carrying drugs.
“This morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests,” Trump wrote.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is the military’s combatant command which encompasses 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.
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The post also included a nearly 30-second video, which appeared to show a vessel in a body of water exploding and then on fire.
Venezuela’s communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.