Military carries out another assault on a vessel presumed to be transporting illicit substances from Venezuela, according to reports
In a significant development, President Donald Trump announced a US military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela on Monday, September 15, 2025. The attack, which took place in International Waters, resulted in the deaths of three individuals aboard the vessel.
The boat in question is believed to have been linked to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, according to President Trump. This designation of the gang as a terrorist organisation by the Trump administration has been a point of contention in recent months.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been vocal about the threat posed by drug cartels, did not personally announce the latest US military action. However, he has expressed a desire for some boats linked to drug cartels to be destroyed and has argued that the US will not tolerate a cartel operating in its own hemisphere.
Rubio has consistently depicted Venezuela as a vestige of communist ideology in the Western Hemisphere. He argues that the drug cartels pose an immediate threat to the nation and justifies the strike as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, on the other hand, has accused the Trump administration of using drug trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation whose intentions are 'to intimidate and seek regime change' in Venezuela. He has also questioned the purpose of the raid, suggesting it was a search for fish rather than drugs.
Maduro repudiated a weekend operation in which 18 Marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean. The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strike.
The Trump administration claims self-defense as a legal justification for the strike. However, Rubio did not confirm whether the boat in question had turned around and was heading back to shore before it was struck.
Maduro accused warmongers and extremists of seeking a military incident in the Caribbean. US officials indicated more military strikes on drug targets would be coming, but the exact details remain unclear.
The incident has further escalated tensions between the two nations, with Rubio reiterating that the US does not see Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela but as head of a drug cartel. Maduro, on the other hand, has accused the Trump administration of attempting to overthrow his government under the guise of fighting drug trafficking.
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