US Military Launches Caribbean Strike on Suspected Venezuelan Drug Boat, 11 Killed

The U.S. military killed 11 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua in a strike on a suspected drug boat in the southern Caribbean Sea on September 2, 2025.

President Donald Trump announced the operation, calling it a major step in his administration’s intensified counter-narcotics campaign. Trump secretly authorized the use of military force against cartels in early August.

“On my orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the group was transporting narcotics bound for the United States.

The White House later released grainy black-and-white video footage showing the open boat being struck and set ablaze.

Military Build-Up and Political Fallout

The strike comes amid a major U.S. naval buildup in the Caribbean, including four destroyers armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and more than 4,500 Marines and sailors.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the action, accusing Trump of preparing for “regime change through military threat.” Trump, meanwhile, alleged that Tren de Aragua operates “under Maduro’s control” and reiterated that U.S. authorities have offered a $50 million reward for his arrest.

Praise and Criticism

Former DEA official Derek Maltz praised the strike as “long overdue,” noting that a direct military attack on a drug-smuggling vessel is unprecedented. He compared the operation to targeting terrorist groups like ISIS or Al-Qaeda.

But critics like Kenneth Roth, professor at Princeton and former Human Rights Watch director, condemned the action as unlawful: “Drug trafficking is a crime, not an act of war. Traffickers must be arrested, not summarily executed.”

The Trump administration earlier this year designated Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug organizations as global terrorist groups, clearing the path for military force against cartels.