Details of The Strike
Trump indicated the operation was in international waters and that the vessel had illegal narcotics on it that were destined for the United States. When speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump stated this boat had "a lot of drugs" on it, and was "destroyed," specifically by U.S. forces. He later posted a single-frame aerial view video on social media of the speed boat racing before it burst into flames. Trump later tweeted that no U.S. personnel were injured in this strike.
In his post, Trump stated that the attack was ordered by him, that it served as a warning to all others attempting to enter the United States and specifically identified the attackers as ``narcoterrorists." The group referred to in Washington as Tren de Aragua is identified as a criminal syndicate engaged in drug trafficking and violent crime.
U.S. Pressure on Venezuela
The security incident comes at an elevated level of tension between the U.S. and Venezuela, the Trump administration also recently announced a bounty of $50 million for information to arrest Nicolas Maduro on drug trafficking charges, and has additionally identified Tren de Aragua and the Cartel of the Suns, also violence Venezuelan group reported to be led by Maduro and senior officials, as terrorist organization.
In recent months, the U.S. military has established a larger presence in the southern Caribbean and deployed naval vessels and large numbers of marines and sailors. Trump said in the aftermath of the military operation that there was a readiness to use military force for counter-narcotic purposes and that "There's more where that came from."
Venezuelan Reaction
The announcement drew a rude response from the Venezuelan government. Communications Minister Freddy Nanez offered without evidence that, in fact, the video Trump posted had been created using AI. Meanwhile, Maduro responded to threats of any military intervention and stated that U.S. warships in the region were "the greatest threat seen on our continent in the last 100 years."
