
US President Donald Trump replies to a question during an event to announce that the Space Force Command will move from Colorado to Alabama, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 2, 2025.—Reuters
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President Donald Trump said Monday that the US military has hit a ship that is believed to be operating through a Venezuelan drug cartel when it was moving towards the US coast, in recent weeks the second suspected drug boat has been affected.
He said three people were killed in the strike, adding that it had happened in international waters. Trump did not provide any evidence for his claim that the boat was taking drugs.
“This morning, on my orders this morning, US military forces have unusually promoted for drug trafficking cartel and drug trafficking in the South Work area,” Trump said in a South Work area, “he said in a truthful social position. “
“These highly violent drug trafficking cartel is a threat to US national security, foreign policy and US significant interests,” Trump said. The US Southern Command (South Command) is the military’s fighter command, which includes 31 countries via South and Central America and the Caribbean.
The post also included a video of about 30 30 seconds, with the top “unintentional” signs, which appear to be a water brunt and then show dishes in the body of the fire.
Later on Monday, Trump said, “We have evidence, all of you have to look at the cargo that was spread throughout the sea, cocaine and phenynell’s big bags.”
Reuters checked early on the video with the AI detection device, but the video was partially blurred, making it impossible to confirm whether the video was manipulated.
However, complete verification is an ongoing process, and with more information is available, Reuters will continue to review the footage.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
The latest strike has emerged in the middle of a major US military construction in the southern Caribbean. Five US F -35 aircraft were seen landing in Puerto Rico on Saturday after the Trump administration ordered 10 of the stealth fighters to join the construction.
There are at least seven US warships in the region, as well as a nuclear -powered submarine.
Sustainable campaign?
Talking to reporters on Monday, Trump suggested that an operation could be carried out on the ground against suspected drug smugglers.
“When they come from the ground, we stop them as we stopped the boats,” Trump said. “But talking about it a little, it wouldn’t happen.”
Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegsith told sailors and Marines on a warship far away from Puerto Rico that they were not deployed to the Caribbean for training, but instead sent the “frontline” of a critical drug mission.
On Monday, Hegsit proposed a broader mission for the US military against drug smugglers in a post on X: “We will track them, kill them, and eliminate their network in their half -planet – in our selection times and places.”
Trump has ordered the Defense Department to name itself the war department, a change that will require action by Congress. The new name will also apply to Hegsith, and its title will be converted to “Secretary of War”.
Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro said a few hours before Trump’s post, recent events between his country and the United States were an “aggression” by the United States, and communication between the two governments had ended massively.
Despite the demands of US lawmakers, the Trump administration provided little information about the first strike on September 2. It is alleged that the riders were a member of Venezuela’s gang train de Aragwa, and said 11 people were killed.
The Pentagon has not publicly said what kind of drugs the boat is taking or how much, or even what types of weapons were used to strike.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the boat was targeted on September 2 when it was targeted, raising questions about the legal status of the strike.
At the time of this first strike, Trump shared a video in which a speedboat was seen in the sea. Later, a Venezuelan official suggested that the video was made with artificial intelligence.
Using the manipulation detection device, evidence of manipulation was not shown to review the visual elements of this video.
The Venezuelan government, who says it deployed tens of thousands of troops to fight drug trafficking and defend the country, said that no one killed in the first strike was from the train de Aragwa.
Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the United States is hoping to remove it from power.
Last month, the United States doubled its prize for information caused by Maduro’s arrest, which he accused of smuggling and links to criminal groups.
The decision to blow up the ship’s suspected ship instead of capturing the ship and catching its crew is extremely unusual.
Under the constitution, the authority to declare war belongs to the Congress, but the commander of the President’s Armed Forces is the chief, and the presidents of the two sides launched a military strike abroad without the approval of the Congress.