The United States military carried out a “kinetic” strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat off the coast of Venezuela Friday morning, killing four alleged narco-terrorists in the latest escalation of Washington’s war on the cartels.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the vessel was “carrying narcotics” through international waters when U.S. forces targeted and destroyed it. “The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people,” Hegseth said in a post on social media.
No American personnel were injured. Hegseth released a 38-second video of the strike, showing the boat erupting in flames before disappearing into the sea. “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,” he said. “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!”
The operation follows President Donald Trump’s formal declaration Thursday that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations.
In a notice to congressional committees, the administration said the President had authorized the Department of War to use military force against cartel operatives “pursuant to the law of armed conflict.”
“The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations,” the administration wrote.
The Trump administration argues that the cartels are not simply criminal enterprises but transnational armed groups responsible for mass casualties in the United States. “They illegally and directly cause the deaths of tens of thousands of American citizens each year,” the administration stated. “These groups are now transnational and conduct ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere as organized cartels. Therefore, the President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.”
The strike Friday marked at least the third such action in recent weeks. According to the administration, U.S. forces have destroyed multiple narco-trafficking vessels, killing 17 people in total, including crews aboard boats that originated in Venezuela. Officials have not publicly named the specific cartels targeted.
Trump’s declaration of war provides legal justification for the strikes under international law. By classifying cartels as terrorist organizations, the administration has signaled it is prepared to use the full power of the American military to disrupt drug trafficking routes before narcotics reach U.S. shores.
For conservatives, the strikes represent a long-overdue response to the cartel-driven fentanyl epidemic and the collapse of security in much of Latin America. Where previous administrations emphasized interdiction and law enforcement, Trump has treated cartel violence as a direct attack on the American homeland.
Hegseth made clear that this new approach would not end with a handful of destroyed boats. “These strikes will continue,” he vowed, underscoring the administration’s view that cartel activity in the Caribbean is no less a threat to American lives than terrorism in the Middle East.
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