The US military conducted a successful airstrike at a Venezuelan cargo ship carrying narcotics in a direction toward the US Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, President Trump posted about the strikes on Truth Social which was accompanied by a video showing the impact of the missiles on the ship. He specifically mentioned the people operating the vessel, who belong to the gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). This gang was designated one of eight south American foreign terrorist organizations by Trump early into his second term.
“Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump posted. “TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere.”
He further addressed the results of the strikes in his post and issueed a warning to drug smugglers.
“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States,” Trump continued. “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!”
A few weeks ago President Trump deployed naval vessels to Venezuela to investigate cartel operations in an effort to stop the flow of narcotics into the US. Tuesday’s strike is the first offensive effort made since that deployment.
President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has been a strong opponent of this US initiative, claiming it is a step toward his nation’s regime change. He called the strikes an “imperialist threat” moments after the news of them was revealed by Trump, according to The Associated Press.
