President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that U.S. forces carried out a deadly strike on suspected Venezuelan narcoterrorists, framing it as a major blow against drug smuggling operations targeting the United States.
Trump Says US Strike Targeted Venezuelan Gang Linked To Maduro
In a Truth Social post, Trump said American forces conducted a "kinetic strike" against members of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan criminal organization designated as a foreign terrorist group.
He claimed the strike, ordered earlier in the day, killed 11 gang members operating allegedly under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States," Trump wrote.
"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!"
Boat Strike Video Shared By Trump, Rubio And Campaign Team
Trump shared a video of a boat being hit on Truth Social. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reposted Trump's statement on X.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) separately shared the boat strike video, posted the same boat video and amplified a Rapid Response 47 clip of Trump telling supporters, "We just, over the last few minutes, shot out a drug-carrying boat… and there’s more where that came from… These came out of Venezuela."
Trump Pushes Military Directive And Defense Department Name Change
Earlier in August, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed speculation about U.S. troops crossing the border, insisting that cooperation with Washington would not undermine Mexico's sovereignty. She made clear that no talks included foreign soldiers operating on Mexican soil.
Meanwhile, Trump had authorized a secret directive allowing potential U.S. military action against cartels abroad and at sea.
Last week, Trump also pursued a separate agenda by reviving a plan to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, last used in 1947.
Draft proposals were already in progress at the Pentagon to make the change official, including reviving the title of Secretary of War.
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Donald Trump | Photo courtesy: Joey Sussman / Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
