WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. forces carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean against a vessel linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, killing 11 people.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the vessel was transporting narcotics in international waters when it was struck. He shared a video appearing to show a multi-engine speedboat erupting in flames after a bright flash at sea.
“No U.S. forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump wrote. “Let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States.”
According to the Associated Press, Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang that began inside a prison more than a decade ago and has spread as millions fled the country’s economic crisis. Trump has repeatedly claimed the group operates under President Nicolás Maduro’s control, though a declassified U.S. intelligence report contradicted that assertion.
The White House and Pentagon have not released details on how officials determined those on board were Tren de Aragua members, what type of drugs were involved, or how much was being transported. The video posted by Trump did not clearly show either drugs or the number of people aboard.
Following Trump’s announcement, Venezuelan state television aired footage of Maduro walking through his childhood neighborhood with supporters. “In the face of imperialist threats, God is with us,” Maduro said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who joined Trump in announcing the strike before departing for a trip to Mexico and Ecuador, told reporters the vessel’s cargo was likely bound for Trinidad or another Caribbean nation. He declined to answer questions about whether the United States might consider military action inside Venezuela.
According to Reuters, the strike marked the first known U.S. military operation in the region since Trump’s recent deployment of additional warships to the Caribbean. The Pentagon has positioned seven warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and surveillance aircraft in the area as part of an expanded effort to target drug trafficking networks.
The unusual decision to destroy the vessel rather than seize it and arrest its crew evoked comparisons to U.S. counterterrorism campaigns of past decades. Venezuelan officials have insisted that Tren de Aragua was dismantled during a 2023 prison raid.
