Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump The US said Tuesday that it had struck against a drug carrier that departed in the southern Caribbean. Venezuela And it was run by the Tren de Aragua gang.
In a social media post, the president said 11 people were killed in a rare US military operation in the Americas. He said this is a dramatic escalation in the Republican administration’s efforts to stem the flow of drugs from Latin America. Trump also posted a short video clip of the small ship that appears to explode in flames.
“The strike occurred when terrorists were at sea in international waters heading for the United States, transporting illegal drugs,” Trump said in The True Society. “The US military was not harmed on this strike. Please use this as a notice even for those considering bringing drugs into the United States.”
President Donald Trump will talk about the Washington event on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, regarding the relocation of the White House’s US Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
This video appears to show a long multi-engine speedboat running through the ocean as bright flashes of light explode over the craft. The boat is then temporarily seen covered in flames.
The video, which is primarily black and white, is not clear enough to see if the craft is carrying as many as 11 people. The video also did not show any large or transparent stashes of drugs in the boat.
Tren de Aragua began more than a decade ago in a notorious, lawless prison with a hardened criminal in the central state of Venezuela. Gangs have expanded in recent years as more than 7.7 million Venezuelans fled economic turmoil and moved to other Latin American countries or the US.
Trump and administration officials have repeatedly accused the gang of being at the roots of violence and illegal drug trafficking that plagues several cities. And on Tuesday the president repeated his claim – Contradicts the declassified US intelligence report rating – Tren de Aragua is active under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The White House did not immediately explain how the military determined the people on the ship were members of Tren de Aragua. The size of the gang is unknown, similar to the extent that its actions are coordinated across state lines and borders.
What Maduro had to say
After Trump announced the strike, Venezuelan state television showed Maduro and first lady Syria Flores walking through the streets of her childhood. The TV host said that Maduro was “spreading patriotic love” when he interacted with his supporters.
“In the face of the threat of imperialism, God is with us,” Maduro told supporters.
Maduro did not speak directly to the strike, but accused the US of “come for Venezuelan wealth” that includes oil and gas. South American countries have the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
“From the neighborhood of Caraca… I tell you, there is sovereign peace in Venezuela,” he said.
Communications Minister Freddie Unies has questioned the truth behind the video. “It’s very likely that it was created using artificial intelligence based on the video provided,” he said in his telegram account. He couldn’t say which tools were used to create the video, but said it showed “animation of almost cartoons rather than realistic depictions of the explosion.”
Trump and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio Rubio first announced his strike on Tuesday just before he set out on a trip to Mexico and Ecuador For lectures on drug cartels, security, tariffs and more.
In a brief exchange with a reporter before leaving Miami for Mexico City, Rubio postponed questions regarding details of the strike to the Pentagon. He said the vessel’s drugs are likely heading elsewhere in the Caribbean.
For years, Rubio has opposed Maduro and other Latin American leftist governments, and has supported opposition leaders. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Rubio told Univision that “strong debate” would be held for US military use in Venezuela. He also accused Venezuelan officials of supporting drug traffickers.
When asked if Trump would run a campaign on Venezuelan soil, Rubio was unclear. “We’re going to take on drug cartels wherever they are, wherever they run against the interests of the US,” he said.
The US sent destroyers to the waters off the coast of Venezuela
The operation came after the US announced plans to boost it last month. Sea marine forces off the coast of Venezuela I’ll fight Threats from Latin American drug cartels.
Maduro’s government responded by deploying troops along the Venezuelan coast, deploying the border with neighboring Colombia, and urging Venezuelans to join the militia.
Maduro claims that the US is building a false drug trafficking narrative in order to get him out of his profession. He and other government officials have repeatedly cited UN reports that show they are attempting to move only 5% of the cocaine produced in Colombia through Venezuela. Bolivia and Colombia, inland, with access to the Pacific and Caribbean, are the world’s top cocaine producers.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will speak at a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela on Monday, September 1, 2025 (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
The latest UN Drug Report shows that various South American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, reported cocaine attacks in 2022 rather than 2021, but Venezuela has not assigned the oversized role the White House has in recent months.
“The impact of increased cocaine trafficking has been felt, especially in Ecuador, and in recent years we have seen a wave of deadly violence from local and transnational criminal groups, particularly Mexico and the Balkans,” according to the report.
Maduro told reporters Monday that if his country was attacked by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, he would “declare the Republic with weapons in the Constitution.”
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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. AP journalist Matthewley in Mexico City, Horhelda in Caracas, Venezuela, and Adriana Gomes Ricon in Fort. Lauderdale, Florida, Washington, and Sagar Megani contributed the report.
