U.S. forces carried out a tenth strike on a suspected drug boat, killing six Tren de Aragua “narco-terrorists” Thursday night in the Caribbean, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.
The “lethal kinetic strike” was the first to take place in the dead of night. It comes as the Trump administration ramps up a campaign of pressure against the Venezuelan regime over drug trafficking in the region.
“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote on X of the hit, which took place in international waters.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,” he added.
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Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, on whom the Trump administration has placed a $50 million bounty, labeled the strikes as “a military attack on civilians who were not at war and were not militarily threatening any country,” while accusing Trump of “seeking a regime change” in the Latin American country.
Trump has signed off on a covert CIA operation in Venezuela against Maduro, who he believes is complicit in the drug trafficking campaign.
B-1 bombers also flew within 50 miles of Venezuela in a massive show of force Thursday.
U.S. Air Force and Marines flew B-52 bombers and F-35B jet fighters last week near an island off the coast of Venezuela in a show of force.
Trump said Thursday that drug trafficking along waterways has plummeted as a result of U.S. military strikes.
