The U.S. military conducted a lethal strike on a drug smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Nov. 4, killing two alleged traffickers on board, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth said the vessel was run by a designated terrorist organization and two “male narco-terrorists” aboard were killed in the strike. He added that no U.S. armed forces were harmed in the operation.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the Pentagon chief
stated on X.
“We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens. Protecting the homeland is our TOP priority,” he added.
The Nov. 4 strike marked the 16th reported U.S. military operation since September against vessels alleged to be transporting illegal drugs to the United States.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have risen as American forces increased their presence in the Caribbean, with Venezuelan officials
denouncing the strikes against drug smuggling vessels as provocative and a violation of sovereignty.
During a CBS “60 Minutes”
interview aired on Nov. 2, President Donald Trump downplayed the possibility of the U.S. military engaging in war with Venezuela.
Trump suggested the heightened military activity in the region was a response to the illegal migration of Venezuelans to the United States and illegal drug trafficking.
“I doubt it. I don’t think so,” he said. “But they’ve been treating us very badly, not only on drugs. They’ve dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn’t want.”
When asked whether Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s days as leader are numbered, Trump replied: “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”
Trump has accused Maduro and his regime of aiding drug cartels in Venezuela, an allegation that Maduro has denied.
The Pentagon
said on Oct. 24 that it was deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford, known as the world’s largest aircraft carrier, to the Southern Command area of responsibility—which encompasses Central America, South America, and the Caribbean—in support of counter-narcotics operations in the region.
Last month, Venezuela condemned the U.S. military’s deployment of the guided missile destroyer USS Gravely to Trinidad and Tobago for a joint military exercise and in response,
suspended its energy cooperation with the twin-island nation.
Caracas
accused Trinidad of engaging in a “
military provoc
ation” in coordination with the CIA and alleged that a false flag attack was underway in the waters between Trinidad and Venezuela. A false flag operation is an act carried out with the intent to make it appear as though another party was responsible.
