President Trump shared dramatic footage of the US military obliterating a boat carrying drugs and Tren de Aragua gangbangers off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday.
The video showed the small boat being blown out of international waters and exploding into flames after it was struck by a single missile, killing all aboard.
Trump said the boat was occupied by 11 “Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists” and was en route to the US when it was blown to smithereens.
TruthSocial / @realDonaldTrump
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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!”
This is the first known attack on a cartel since Trump authorized the military to carry out such operations earlier this year.
The region is a major exporter of cocaine, but initial statements did not reveal the type of drug or drugs that the boat was smuggling.
Trump in late August deployed three guided-missile destroyers and about 4,000 Marines to the Venezuelan coast — prompting the country’s authoritarian left-wing leader Nicolas Maduro to mobilize millions of militia members and claim an invasion was imminent
The Trump administration has branded the Cuba-aligned strongman, in power since 2013, as a drug cartel leader and fugitive from justice.
The US government in early August offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.
On Monday, Maduro accused the US of seeking a regime change in his country amid a naval buildup in the Caribbean.