President Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday that the U.S. military has carried out another strike against a suspected drug trafficking vessel near the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six individuals believed to be smugglers.
On Truth Social, Trump stated, “Under my authority as Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary of the Army ordered an airstrike on a ship linked to a designated terrorist organization involved in narcotics trafficking within the USSOUTHCOM area.” He pointed out that intelligence suggested the vessel was involved in drug trafficking with connections to an illegal narco-terrorist group.
The president added that “the airstrike occurred in international waters, leading to the deaths of six male narco-terrorists on board,” and confirmed, “There was no damage to U.S. military assets.”
This airstrike comes after a memo from the White House warned Congress that the U.S. was in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug smugglers. It also followed several other deadly operations against suspected drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean over the past month.
On Friday, the Army announced the establishment of a new joint task force aimed at countering narcotics in the Southern Command region, according to Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth. The initiative is designed to “crush cartels, stop poison, and safeguard America.” He emphasized on X that, “If you traffic drugs to our shores, we will stop you in your tracks.”
However, some members of Congress are questioning the legality of these strikes. Senators Adam Schiff from California and Tim Kaine from Virginia proposed the War Powers Resolution in September, aiming to prevent military action against certain non-state entities without Congressional approval.
Schiff expressed concerns on Wednesday, saying, “We haven’t received authorization from Congress for this use of force… It’s unconstitutional.” The bill, though, did not progress, failing in the Senate with a 51-48 vote, despite some bipartisan support.
Trump has indicated his commitment to continuing military action, telling Pentagon leaders that “the military is now a weapon in the fight against this evil enemy.” He warned troops at Quantico, Virginia, that they needed to be vigilant against traffickers and cartels, stating, “If you try to poison our people, we’ll wipe you out.” He concluded that the current military actions have significantly reduced the presence of boats in the region, claiming, “You don’t see any boats around Venezuela anymore.”
