United States President Donald Trump on Friday night announced that the US military had struck down yet another vessel in the SouthCom region—which includes the Caribbean—bringing the total number of known US strikes to at least four.In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that three male “narco-terrorists” were aboard the vessel in international waters at the time of the lethal strike, and were killed.















IN FULL SUPPORT: Members of the Bolivarian National Militia cheer in unison during military exercises in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday. —Photo: AP









This effort was ordered on his authority by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, he said.The vessel, he alleged, was affiliated with a designated terrorist organisation.“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics and was transiting along a known narco-trafficking passage en route to poison Americans...No US Forces were harmed in this strike. Stop selling fentanyl, narcotics, and illegal drugs in America, and committing violence and terrorism against Americans!!!” wrote Trump.Trump gave no indication of the exact location of the strike, other than the SouthCom region, which includes the landmass of Central and South America (south of Mexico), the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and adjacent Atlantic and Pacific waters.But it follows at least three announced in the southern Caribbean by Trump over the past three weeks, and brings the confirmed death toll up to 17.Just one day earlier, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab called for the intervention of the United Nations, calling the killings “serial executions of Venezuelans”.Speaking in a social outreach initiative on Thursday, AG Saab condemned the strikes, stating: “The serial killings of Venezuelans who were on small, crewed boats—they were not caught in the act of committing any crime and are being murdered in a totally barbaric way.”“The use of missiles and nuclear weapons to serially murder defenceless fishermen on a small boat are crimes against humanity that must be investigated by the UN. I therefore demand that the international human rights body at the United Nations responsible for this matter open the appropriate investigation into these actions.“A small boat carrying three or four people who are not committing any flagrant crime; in any case, if that were so, they should be detained with the proper coordination and handed over to the justice system,” he stated.The strikesOn September 2, Trump announced that 11 men were killed in a lethal US military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug-carrying vessel. The US labelled the 11 “narco-terrorists”, who they later said were part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.Footage released from the White House depicted the craft engulfed in fire—though Venezuelan officials initially cast doubt on its authenticity, questioning if it was AI generated.Speaking to US media shortly after the strike, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that drugs on board the vessel were likely heading to Trinidad or another Caribbean country.Venezuela media reported after the strike that the vessel was believed to have departed from San Juan de Unare, a small coastal fishing town off the Arismendi municipality of Sucre, Venezuela—about 65 miles from Trinidad’s coast.The strike followed a US military build-up that began in August in the southern Caribbean that included at least eight warships, an amphibious assault ship and other naval resources.Two weeks later, on September 15, Trump announced the US military had again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel.Asked about proof of the vessel’s occupants being drug traffickers during a White House news conference, Trump said that the proof was in the cargo that had been spattered all across the ocean.“We have proof, all you have to do is look at the cargo...big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place. We have recorded evidence that they were leaving. We are very careful...The military has been amazing,” he said.He said he was shown a clip of the strike, where proof of the drugs was seen.He also said that the military had noted a lack of ships in the region since its naval build-up in the southern Caribbean first began.“First when we went there were hundreds of boats, now there are no boats. I wonder why? I think the fishing business is probably a little hurt. There are literally no boats, this was a boat, and we were surprised to see it. That means there are no drugs coming by sea, but they do come by land, and we are telling the cartels right now, we are going to be stopping them too,” said Trump.On September 16, speaking briefly to the media before his official state visit to London, Trump confirmed that three boats had been struck and issued a warning to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to stop sending Tren de Aragua gang members and drugs into the US.“I would say to him, very strongly, stop sending people from your prisons into our country,” he said.


Read More