The U.S. military killed 11 alleged Tren de Aragua members during a strike in the southern Caribbean against a vessel leaving Venezuela and suspected of carrying drugs, according to President Donald Trump.
In a Truth Social Post on Tuesday, Trump said that on his orders, the military “conducted a kinetic strike” while “the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.” He posted a video of what appeared to be a small boat carrying a group of people bursting into flames, and said that no U.S. personnel were harmed in the strike.
Trump also accused President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela of controlling Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. designated as a terrorist group in February. The Department of Justice is offering a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro and has accused the Venezuelan president of violating U.S. narcotics laws.
“We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, per Reuters. “And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time … These came out of Venezuela.”
Maduro previously warned that he would respond to any U.S. military action with an “armed fight” and claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was attempting to pull Trump into a war in the Caribbean. “Mr. President, Donald Trump,” the Venezuelan president said on Monday, per The New York Times, “watch out, because Mr. Rubio wants to stain your hands with blood.”
As the Associated Press reports, the U.S. government is increasing its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat what it says are threats from drug cartels, ed. In turn, the Venezuelan government deployed troops along its coast and border with Colombia, and has encouraged Venezuelans to join a volunteer militia.
Maduro has also accused the Trump administration of trying to force him from office, and told reporters on Monday that if Venezuela was attacked by U.S. forces in the Caribbean, he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms.”
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