US Launches New Attack on Suspected Drug-Running Boat One Day After Venezuela Denounces American Fighter Jet Incursion

US military killed four people in a new attack on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs, said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday. This is the fourth strike of this kind in weeks and it comes a day after President Donald Trump formally declared that the US is at war with drug cartels. In total, 21 people have already died as a result of these American attacks. Meanwhile, Venezuela condemned the ‘illegal incursion’ of Washington’s fighters in an airspace under their control.
Trump decided that his country is formally engaged in an ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels, classified by his team as terrorist organizations. The suspects of smuggling for these groups are considered ‘illegal combatants,’ according to the government’s confidential statement to Congress this week.
During the attack, Hegseth said, under Trump’s orders, was carried out in international waters near the Venezuelan coast. ‘These attacks will continue until attacks on the American people stop!’ wrote the Defense Secretary.
In a nearly 40-second video shared by Hegseth, a boat can be seen moving in the water before several projectiles seem to hit the water, causing an explosion. As the smoke from the blast dissipates, the boat becomes visible, engulfed in flames, floating motionless in the water.
Hegseth stated, without providing evidence, that intelligence confirmed ‘beyond a doubt’ that the ship was transporting drugs and the people on board were ‘narcoterrorists.’ Trump, also without presenting evidence, claimed that the boat contained ‘enough drugs to kill 25,000 to 50,000 people’ and hinted that it was ‘entering American territory while off the Venezuelan coast.’
In a post about the first attack, Trump claimed that the ship carried members of the Tren de Aragua cartel. However, the posts about all subsequent attacks, including this Friday’s, did not provide details on which organizations were targeted.
On Friday, the Venezuela government said they detected US fighter jets 75 kilometers from its coast – a distance beyond the usual 20-kilometer territorial waters. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López called the move a ‘provocation’ and a threat to national security. ‘They are combat aircraft. Combat aircraft that US imperialism dared to approach the Venezuelan coast,’ Padrino said in a statement to state TV, adding that five F-35 jets were flying at a speed of 400 knots and at 35,000 feet altitude.