By: Sunday Ameh
The United States military has carried out a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people on board.
US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who confirmed the development in a post on X on Friday, said the action was part of renewed efforts to tackle narcotics trafficking into America.
According to him, the operation, conducted in international waters, targeted a vessel “transporting substantial amounts of narcotics headed to America to poison our people.”
“Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” Hegseth stated, adding that the US would sustain the strikes “until the attacks on the American people are over.”
He also shared a video of the strike showing a speeding boat engulfed in flames and smoke after being hit.
The incident is the fourth in a series of such strikes by US forces in recent weeks, which have reportedly left at least 21 people dead.
President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, also described the boat as being “loaded with enough drugs to kill 25,000 to 50,000 people,” stressing that the strike was necessary to protect Americans.
However, the Venezuelan government has condemned the attack. President Nicolas Maduro described the strike as “armed aggression” aimed at regime change and exploitation of the country’s resources.
At a rally in Caracas, Maduro accused Washington of destabilising the region and ordered the mobilisation of reservists and militias “if it is necessary to move from unarmed combat to armed combat.”
Similarly, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), a regional bloc, denounced the raid as a violation of international law, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro faulted Washington’s approach, insisting the real drug kingpins reside in the US and Europe, not on the boats.
The strike has further heightened tensions between Washington and Caracas, following reports of increased deployment of US warships and fighter jets in the Caribbean region.
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