U.S. Takes Out Alleged Venezuelan Drug Boat, Kills 11

 

The USS Sampson, a U.S. Navy missile destroyer, docks in Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 2.

BY C STONE | STONE NEWS NETWORK ||| SOUTH AMERICA |||| VENEZUELA

Source: NPR

The United States has fired upon a vessel in the southern Caribbean which allegedly was carrying a Venezuelan drug shipment. The strike killed 11, and the boat sank.

via NPR:

Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event that the operation happened "over the last few minutes, (we) literally shot out a a boat, a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat."

Moments later Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted confirmation, calling it a "lethal strike" on a vessel operated by a "designated narco-terrorist organization."

In a later Truth Social post about the operation, Trump said 11 people were killed, calling them "terrorists," claiming they were members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. He included a video in the post labeled "unclassified" showing a strike on a small speedboat with four outboard motors.

The strike on the vessel comes amid the Trump administration's increasingly confrontational posture toward the Veneuelan regime.  Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and has put a $50 million bounty on his head. Then just over a week ago, the U.S. deployed warships—including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group—to waters off Venezuela's coast in a significant show of force.

There is no love lost between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Washington accuses Maduro of leading a drug cartel and put a $50 million bounty on his head. 

$50 million is a lot of money.

More at NPR.