Trump says U.S. strikes third drug vessel in international waters, killing three

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. forces conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters that was affiliated with a designated terrorist organization conducting narcotrafficking in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. In a Truth Social post accompanied by a video showing the vessel engulfed in flames, Trump said three male narcoterrorists were killed and that no U.S. forces were harmed.

The post asserted that intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage en route to poison Americans. The strike, Trump wrote, occurred in international waters under SOUTHCOM's jurisdiction. The post did not include operational details such as the vessel’s exact location or the timing of the attack, and there was no immediate independent confirmation from U.S. military authorities in this statement. The video shared by Trump appeared to depict an explosion and fire on the vessel captured from a distance.

This operation is the third such strike on alleged drug boats in recent weeks. In a separate post on Monday, Trump announced a second kinetic strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility, saying the operation killed additional targets. Earlier reporting describes a first strike that killed nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists on a Venezuelan-linked drug boat in the southern Caribbean. The three strikes together form part of a broader U.S. crackdown on cartel networks operating from South America into the Caribbean and the United States.

U.S. officials and regional observers have framed these actions as part of a broader campaign against narcotrafficking networks that authorities say operate across borders and influence violence in the hemisphere. The U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility covers most of South America and the Caribbean, a region where U.S. military and law enforcement have repeatedly asserted they are pursuing drug trafficking networks that feed illicit markets in North America. The administration has signaled a willingness to use kinetic measures against vessels and groups it designates as terrorist organizations when intelligence indicates trafficking activity poses a direct threat to Americans.

In February, the Trump administration designated several drug-cartel groups, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, as foreign terrorist organizations, a move the administration said would enable closer legal and operational tools to disrupt networks that authorities contend pose an existential threat to U.S. citizens. The designation dovetails with stated aims to disrupt the financial and operational infrastructure of major trafficking networks operating in the region and beyond.

The latest strike comes as Venezuela’s government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, has repeatedly condemned U.S. actions as aggression and interference in the region. Maduro’s administration has said it will defend itself against what it describes as unilateral U.S. military pressure, while expressing willingness to pursue dialogue with regional partners to address narcotics trafficking concerns. Legal and international-law analyses cited by outlets such as the BBC have raised questions about the legality of deadly force in international waters, particularly when the targeted vessel is not clearly engaged in hostilities at the time of attack, though proponents of the strikes have framed them as preventive actions against identified threats. The BBC has noted that some legal experts expressed concern that earlier operations in international waters could have violated certain aspects of international law.

The series of announcements and accompanying visuals, including videos of the strikes, have become a recurring feature of Trump’s public communications on narcotics interdiction. Supporters portray the actions as decisive steps in reducing the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the United States, while critics argue that unilateral strikes risk escalating tensions in an already volatile region and may raise questions about sovereignty and legal process. The White House has not released a full public account of the intelligence basis for each strike, and independent verification of the specifics—such as the identity of the target or the precise casualty figures—has not been independently corroborated in every instance.

As the campaign against drug-trafficking networks continues, regional authorities and international partners are watching closely for any escalation in maritime operations and potential reprisals by cartel-supported factions. The evolving situation underscores the ongoing debate over how best to balance military measures with diplomatic and legal norms while attempting to curb the cross-border violence associated with narcotics trafficking. The public record to date depicts a cycle of multiple strikes over a short period, each framed by Trump as a targeted response to identified threats and each accompanied by a post on Truth Social detailing the alleged outcomes for the vessels involved.

In the most recent update, Trump asserted that the strike was conducted by U.S. forces with no casualties on the American side, reaffirming a pattern in which officials emphasize the precision of these operations and the absence of U.S. personnel losses. Analysts note that the information flow surrounding these events is tightly controlled and often framed through political messaging, complicating independent assessments of the operations’ legal and strategic implications. The broader context remains a sustained, high-profile effort by the administration to disrupt narco-trafficking networks that authorities say sustain violence and corruption across the hemisphere and beyond."