Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Read original
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump shared a post with “unclassified” video footage of the U.S. military carrying out a strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela.
The Trump administration said the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. The president said that 11 people were killed in the rare U.S. military operation in the Americas.
Trump posted Tuesday, “Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere. The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!”
The move follows Washington’s recent decision to expand its naval presence off Venezuela to counter Latin American drug cartels, though officials have not signaled any plans for a land incursion. In response, President Nicolás Maduro has ordered troop deployments along the coast and border with Colombia and urged Venezuelans to join civilian militias.
In recent weeks, the U.S. Navy has mobilized around 4,500 troops around the Caribbean, with the White House stating this was to target the drug trade out of Venezuela to the U.S.
This is a breaking news article. Updates to follow.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Read the full article here
