Trump Says U.S. Military Sinks Venezuelan Drug Boat, Killing Three
Trump Orders Lethal Strike on Venezuelan Drug Cartel Vessel, Signaling Expanded Military Campaign Against Narco-Terror Networks
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. military carried out a strike on a boat allegedly transporting narcotics from Venezuela, killing three people aboard, in what he described as part of a widening campaign against drug cartels.
“The strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in international waters transporting illegal narcotics — a deadly weapon poisoning Americans — headed to the U.S.,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He added that drug cartels “pose a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and vital U.S. interests.”
The latest strike comes less than two weeks after another U.S. operation destroyed a Venezuelan speedboat and killed 11 suspected smugglers.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he had been shown video footage of Monday’s strike by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and insisted proof of the narcotics cargo was evident in “big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later warned on X that the U.S. would “track [cartels], kill them, and dismantle their networks throughout our hemisphere — at the times and places of our choosing.” The White House also released a short unclassified video clip of the strike.
Narco-terrorists are enemies of the United States — actively bringing death to our shores.
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) September 15, 2025
We will stop at nothing to defend our homeland and our citizens.
We will track them, kill them, and dismantle their networks throughout our hemisphere — at the times and places of our… https://t.co/abOWXe2afE
Questions of legality
But the military operations have triggered sharp criticism in Washington. Several lawmakers, including Democrats and some Republicans, have questioned the legality of deploying U.S. forces for what they say amounts to law enforcement missions.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said he is drafting a war powers resolution to prevent further strikes without congressional approval, warning that Trump’s actions risk provoking a wider conflict with Venezuela.
Human rights groups echoed those concerns. Amnesty International USA described the operation as a possible “extrajudicial execution,” with program director Daphne Eviatar stating there is “absolutely no legal justification for this military strike.”
Trump administration officials, however, argue the strikes are lawful under self-defense provisions and necessary to combat what Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called “narco-terror cartels” operating under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. officials said the first strike earlier this month targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated as a terrorist organization, though Trump did not confirm whether Monday’s target belonged to the same group.
Maduro lashes out
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday denounced the U.S. operations, accusing Washington of manufacturing pretexts to “intimidate and seek regime change.” He mocked an alleged weekend raid on a Venezuelan fishing boat by U.S. Marines, asking, “What were they looking for? Tuna? Snapper? They were looking for a military incident.”
Speaking to Fox News, Secretary Rubio repeated that Washington views Maduro not as Venezuela’s legitimate leader but as “head of a cartel,” vowing: “We’re not going to have a cartel, masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere.”
Escalation Timeline
As previously reported by Kurdistan24 on Sept. 3, the Trump administration had already launched a “kinetic strike” earlier this month that destroyed a narcotics vessel operated by suspected members of the Tren de Aragua organization, killing 11. That strike was announced with a stark warning on Truth Social and a dramatic video clip of the vessel’s destruction.
The administration’s policy builds on an executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, with Trump and top officials pledging to bring the “full power of America” against them.
The U.S. has also deployed guided-missile destroyers off Venezuela’s coast, drawing criticism from China, which called the moves a violation of the UN Charter.
U.S. officials have long accused Maduro of presiding over a narco-terrorist network. In 2020, he was indicted in New York on narco-terrorism and cocaine conspiracy charges, and a $50 million U.S. reward remains in place for information leading to his arrest.
The latest strike underscores Trump’s vow to escalate his military campaign against cartels, though its legality — and its potential to spark regional confrontation — remains hotly contested.
