US forces on Saturday evening struck another vessel off the coast of Venezuela, Donald Trump said on Sunday to thousands of sailors at a ceremony celebrating the US navy’s 250th anniversary. He claimed that the vessel had been illegally carrying drugs and added that the US would also start looking at drug trafficking happening on land.Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, next to the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced on Friday by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.During his speech, Trump said the navy had supported the mission “to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water. There are no boats in the water any more. You can’t find them.”The navy has also been utilized to join an armed conflict with drug cartels, leading to four strikes in the Caribbean on what the administration says are fast-boats engaged in drug trafficking.Trump added that if drug smugglers were not coming in by sea, “we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land. And let me tell you that’s not going to work out well for them either.”The United Nations has condemned the US strikes – which the US defends as countering “narco-terrorist” members of Tren de Aragua, designated a foreign terrorist organization, in international waters – as extrajudicial executions.“International law does not allow governments to simply murder alleged drug traffickers,” the UN said last month. “Criminal activities should be disrupted, investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the rule of law, including through international cooperation.”Trump says US struck another boat illegally carrying drugs off Venezuela coast – videoThe navy celebrations come amid a shutdown of the federal government that has left some military personnel working without pay. Trump has accused Democrats of enabling the shutdown and attempting “to destroy this wonderful celebration of the US Navy’s Birthday”.“I believe, ‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON!’” Trump posted on Friday night on his social media site. “This will be the largest Celebration in the History of the Navy. Thousands of our brave Active Duty Servicemembers and Military Families will be in attendance, and I look forward to this special day with all of them.”Trump has pledged to rebuild the navy’s shipbuilding capacity after warnings that the service is in danger of losing its status as the world’s dominant naval power.The US fleet is at its smallest size since before the second world war, while state-subsidized Chinese shipyards have surpassed the productivity of US shipyards.The navy secretary, John Phelan, who was confirmed in March, has identified “urgency” as a missing element in naval shipbuilding and ordered an accelerated production schedule for the Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine programs.The navy celebrations come after months of turmoil at the Pentagon as Hegseth rearranges the military’s top leadership of the army, navy, air force and coast guard.In a controversial speech to military leaders last week, Hegseth declared an end to “woke” culture and announced new directives that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.Hegseth said: “The only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing for war and preparing to win, unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit not because we want war, no one here wants war, but it’s because we love peace.”At the meeting, Trump proposed using US cities as training grounds for the armed forces and he spoke of needing military might to combat what he called an “invasion from within”.

The US has launched four attacks on the Caribbean region in recent weeks as part of what it says is a war on drugs.American forces have struck another vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off Venezuela’s coast, according to United States President Donald Trump, who appeared to threaten further action inside Venezuelan territory.Speaking at Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday beside the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, Trump praised the Navy’s efforts to combat what he called “cartel terrorists”, noting that another vessel had been hit on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Venezuela Foreign Ministry warns of ‘immoral military threat’ from USlist 2 of 3Venezuela’s Maduro ready to declare state of emergency if US attackslist 3 of 3Trump memo says US in ‘non-international armed conflict’ with cartelsend of list“In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water … we did another one last night. Now we just can’t find any,” Trump said.While the president referred to a Saturday attack, it remains unclear whether he really meant Friday’s attack or an additional one.“They’re not coming in by sea any more, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land,” he added in an apparent threat to strike Venezuela.US claims that it is targeting drug traffickers could not be independently verified.Russia, meanwhile, condemned US strikes on a boat allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela that killed four people on Friday and warned of potential escalation in the entire Caribbean region.In a phone call to his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the attack, which took place in international waters.“The ministers expressed serious concern about Washington’s escalating actions in the Caribbean Sea that are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region,” according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the conversation.“The Russian side has confirmed its full support and solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela in the current context.”Get instant alerts and updates based on your interests. Be the first to know when big stories happen.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News in an interview on Sunday that he had “every authorisation needed” to conduct military strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela. He did not provide more details about what the authorisation granted his office permission to do.In a post on X following Friday’s strike, Hegseth claimed the vessel was transporting “substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people”.“These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!,” he said.In a nearly 40-second video of the strike shared by Hegseth, a vessel can be seen moving through the water before a web of projectiles falls on the boat and the surrounding water, causing the boat to explode on impact.He claimed that the intelligence “without a doubt” confirmed that the vessel was carrying drugs and that the people on board were “narco-terrorists”. He disclosed neither the amount nor the type of alleged drugs aboard, and he did not release any evidence to support his assertion that the targets of the strike were drug smugglers.US war against drug cartelsThe latest strikes bring the number of such US attacks to at least four, perhaps five, with at least 21 people dead.Trump notified Congress on Thursday that his administration had determined that members of drug cartels are “unlawful combatants” with whom the US is engaged in “non-international armed conflict”.Trump on Sunday told reporters at the White House that the US military build-up in the Caribbean had halted drug trafficking from South America. “There’s no drugs coming into the water. And we’ll look at what phase two is,” he said.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US is hoping to drive him out of power. Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on Thursday – when the country blasted an “illegal incursion” near its borders by US warplanes – that US attacks were “a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation”.Washington has cited the US Constitution, war powers, designation of drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”, the right to self-defence and international law on unlawful combatants as the legal basis for the strikes.Some legal experts and lawmakers argue that using military force in international waters against alleged criminals bypasses due process, violates law enforcement norms, lacks a clear legal foundation under US and international law, and is not justified by the cartels’ “terrorist” designation.

SummaryStrikes have killed 21 this month, according to the USTrump says US will now look to operations by landUS has not provided evidence of drug traffickingVenezuela seeks foreign support, sent letter to popeNAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Virginia, Oct 5 (Reuters) - U.S. forces hit another vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, adding that the U.S. would also start looking at drug trafficking occurring on land.Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk, next to the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced Friday by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here.That strike, at least the fourth such attack in recent weeks, killed four people."In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water ... we did another one last night. Now we just can't find any," Trump said."They're not coming in by sea anymore, so now we'll have to start looking about the land because they'll be forced to go by land."U.S. President Donald Trump points a finger during a Navy 250 Celebration in Norfolk, Virginia. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabVenezuela's communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but President Nicolas Maduro published a video message on Telegram shortly after Trump’s announcement in which he blasted U.S. aggression against Venezuela and said the country counted with diplomatic support."Our people have never and will never be afraid to defend their right to live and be free," Maduro said, without referencing Trump's latest comments. "We will be ready to face any scenario."Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said earlier on Sunday his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov gave a "full expression of support and solidarity" to Caracas in a phone call between the two.On Saturday, Gil said Maduro had sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV in which he asked for his support to "consolidate peace in Venezuela."Hegseth told Fox News in an interview broadcast on Sunday he has every authorization needed for the Caribbean strikes.Reporting by Jonathan Ernst, Andrea Shalal and Julia Harte; Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago in Caracas and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

A vessel burns in this still image taken from a video released September 15, 2025, depicting what U.S. President Donald Trump said was a U.S. military strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel that had been on its way to the United States, the second such strike carried out against a suspected drug boat in recent weeks. Donald... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read moreSummaryConfusion over number of U.S. strikes on drug boatsTrump claim of a Saturday strike not confirmed by PentagonExperts see Trump testing limits of presidential powerWASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - How many suspected drug boats has the U.S. military destroyed in the waters off Venezuela? It might be as high as six or as low as four, depending on who you ask.The latest confusion arose on Sunday when U.S. President Donald Trump announced the United States carried out yet another strike on a boat allegedly transporting drugs off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday.Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here."We did another one last night," Trump told reporters during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk, next to the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.The Pentagon has yet to confirm that strike, however, and the White House did not respond to a request for clarification. Two U.S. officials told Reuters they are unaware of any such operation on Saturday.The fuzzy accounting adds to the mystery surrounding the attacks, which have alarmed Democratic lawmakers and some experts, who see Trump testing the limits of the law as he expands the scope of presidential power.It was unclear whether Trump might have mistaken the Saturday strike for one announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday in the waters off Venezuela that killed four suspected drug traffickers.This wasn't the first time that U.S. military officials have been unable to clarify Trump's remarks about U.S. military activities in the Caribbean.Last month, he cited an operation to take out a drug vessel that analysts thought was either a top-secret third strike or a poorly phrased reference to a Coast Guard operation which didn't destroy a boat but in which personnel boarded it."We knocked off actually three boats, not two. But you saw two," Trump told reporters on September 16, suggesting a secret operation or one so new it hadn't been disclosed.What is public so far is the following: On four occasions, either Trump or Hegseth have posted on social media, opens new tab about the strikes, including short videos of the operations. Twenty-one individuals on the vessels have been killed, according to the Trump administration.The administration has not detailed what evidence it has against the vessels or individuals, has not said what type of munitions or platforms were used in the strikes or even what quantity of drugs the vessels were allegedly carrying.Last week, the Pentagon disclosed to Congress in a notification reviewed by Reuters that Trump has determined the United States is engaged in "a non-international armed conflict", opens new tab with drug cartels.The document aimed to explain the Trump administration's legal rationale for unleashing U.S. military force in the Caribbean.Some former military lawyers say the legal explanations given by the Trump administration for killing suspected drug traffickers at sea instead of apprehending them fail to satisfy requirements under the law of war, which requires several criteria to be met before taking lethal action - including first using non-lethal means like firing warning shots.Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, Editing by Don Durfee and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tabPhil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.

GÜIRIA, Venezuela (AP) — One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet. And a fourth was a down-on-his-luck bus driver. The men had little in common beyond their Venezuelan seaside hometowns and the fact all four were among the more than 60 people killed since early September when the U.S. military began attacking boats that the Trump administration alleges were smuggling drugs. President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials have alleged the craft were being operated by narco-terrorists and cartel members bound with deadly drugs for American communities. One mother describes the “confusion and anguish” of losing her son, who is believed to have been killed in one of the boats targeted by the U.S. military. (AP video Juan Arraez) The Associated Press learned the identities of four of the men – and pieced together details about at least five others – who were slain, providing the first detailed account of those who died in the strikes. In dozens of interviews in villages on Venezuela’s breathtaking northeastern coast, from which some of the boats departed, residents and relatives said the dead men had indeed been running drugs but were not narco-terrorists or leaders of a cartel or gang. Most of the nine men were crewing such craft for the first or second time, making at least $500 per trip, residents and relatives said. They were laborers, a fisherman, a motorcycle taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a well-known local crime boss who contracted out his smuggling services to traffickers. The men lived on the Paria Peninsula, in mostly unpainted cinderblock homes that can go weeks without water service and regularly lose power for several hours a day. They awoke to panoramic views of a national park’s tropical forests, the Gulf of Paria’s shallows and the Caribbean’s sparkling sapphire waters. When the time came for their drug runs, they boarded open-hulled fishing skiffs that relied on powerful outboard motors to haul their drugs to nearby Trinidad and other islands. The residents and relatives interviewed by the AP requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals from drug smugglers, the Venezuelan government or the Trump administration. They said they were incensed that the men were killed without due process. In the past, their boats would have been interdicted by the U.S. authorities and the crewmen charged with federal crimes, affording them a day in court. The U.S. government “should have stopped them,” a man’s relative said.It has been difficult for relatives to learn much about their dead loved ones because criminal gangs and the Venezuelan government have long repressed the flow of information in the region. Venezuelan officials have blasted the U.S. government over the strikes, and the nation’s ambassador to the U.N. called the attacks “extrajudicial executions.” They have also steadfastly denied that drug traffickers operate in the country and have yet to acknowledge that any of its citizens have been killed in boat strikes. Spokespeople for Venezuela’s government did not respond to a request for comment.The Trump administration has justified the strikes by declaring drug cartels to be “ unlawful combatants ” and said the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them. Trump has said each sunken boat has saved 25,000 American lives, presumably from overdoses. The boats, however, appear to have been transporting cocaine, not the far more deadly synthetic opioids that kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement to the AP that the Defense Department has “consistently said that our intelligence did indeed confirm that the individuals involved in these drug operations were narco-terrorists, and we stand by that assessment.”So far, the U.S. military has blown up 17 vessels, killing more than 60 people. Nine of the craft were targeted in the Caribbean, and at least three of those had departed from Venezuela, according to the Trump administration. The military is striking the boats at the same time the administration is applying increasing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Justice Department doubled a reward for his arrest to $50 million, and the U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela and has flown pairs of supersonic, heavy bombers along the country’s coast. Relatives and acquaintances said they have confirmed the deaths through word-of-mouth and inexplicit social media posts that sought to convey information about the dead men without drawing the attention of Venezuelan authorities. They have also made what they described as reasonable deductions: The men have not returned phone calls or texts in weeks, or reached out to say they were OK; Venezuelan authorities, residents said, have also searched some of the homes of the dead men. “I want an answer, but who can I ask?” said a relative of one of the men. “I can’t say anything.”The fisherman (AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin) A native of Güiria, a village on the southeast side of the peninsula, Robert Sánchez dropped out of school as a teenager and like many others in the region became a fisherman like his father, according to friends and relatives. The 42-year-old was considered among the peninsula’s best pilots, they said, having spent the better part of three decades mastering the area’s currents and winds, so much so he could navigate the waters at night without instruments. As part of hired crews, the father of four spent his days fishing for snapper, kingfish and dogfish. The fisherman wanted to save enough money to buy a 75-horsepower boat engine so he could operate his own boat and not work for others. It was a dream Sánchez knew he was likely to never realize, relatives said: Most of his income — about $100 a month — went to feed his children.He was not alone in that situation. The peninsula is part of Sucre state, one of Venezuela’s poorest. Sucre was once home to several fish processing plants, an auto assembly plant and a large public university, all of which offered well-paying jobs. Most have shuttered. The peninsula is dotted by the unfulfilled promises of 26 years of a self-described socialist government, including an abandoned shipyard and the rusted infrastructure meant for a natural gas complex. With its proximity to the Caribbean Sea, the area is a popular transit hub for cocaine making its way from Colombia to Trinidad and other Caribbean islands before heading to Europe. Colombian cocaine destined for the U.S. is generally smuggled out of Colombia through the Pacific coast. The larger economic pressures — and Sánchez’s goal of owning a boat engine — are what pushed the fisherman to accept an offer to help traffickers navigate the tricky waters he knew so well, friends and relatives said. Sánchez had just finished offloading a day’s catch last month when he told his mother he would be taking a short trip and would see her in a couple of days. They had no idea where he was going. After seeing clips on social media that mentioned his death, relatives broke the news to his mother, but not until after ensuring she had taken her blood pressure medication. Sánchez’s youngest son, a third grader, could not accept for days that his father was gone. He kept asking adults if his father could have survived the explosion, noting he might still be at sea.No, the adults told the boy. His father was gone. One of the first to die (AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin) Luis “Che” Martínez was killed in the first strike. A burly 60-year-old, Martínez was a longtime local crime boss, and he made most of his living smuggling drugs and people across borders, according to several people who knew him. He had been jailed by Venezuelan authorities on human-trafficking charges after a boat he had operated capsized in December 2020, killing about two dozen people, law enforcement officials said at the time. Among those who died in the accident were two of his sons and a granddaughter, relatives told the AP. The AP was not able to determine the disposition of his criminal case, but Martínez was eventually released from custody and returned to smuggling people and drugs, according to acquaintances. Though they detested what he did for a living — and the control Martínez and similar criminals exerted over their villages — several residents said they appreciated how Martínez contributed annually to the town’s festival of the Virgin of the Valley, the patroness of fishermen, and he spent lavishly in local shops and restaurants. He also bet heavily on cockfights, a popular pastime, a bird breeder said. Martínez was killed, a relative and several acquaintances said, in the first known U.S. strike, which took place Sept. 2. Trump quickly took to social media to claim the vessel had departed from Venezuela and had been carrying drugs. The 11-man crew, the president said, had been members of the Tren de Aragua gang. He said all of the men were killed and also posted a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.Martínez’s relatives said they did not believe the underworld figure was a member of that gang. They said they have been provided no information from the Venezuelan government about his fate. They figured it out when they came across a photo of a body that had washed ashore in Trinidad. The photo had been shared on social media and messaging apps and depicted a badly mutilated body. The people familiar with Martínez said they knew instantly the stout corpse was Martínez because, on his left wrist, was strapped one of his most treasured belongings: an ostentatious watch. The former cadet and bus driver (AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin) Dushak Milovcic, 24, was drawn to crime by the adrenaline rush and money, so much that he dropped out of the country’s National Guard Academy, according to those who knew him. He started as a lookout for smugglers, they said. Though he had no experience at sea, he eventually won a promotion to the more lucrative and coveted jobs on drug-running boats.It’s not clear how many trips he had undertaken before he was killed last month. Juan Carlos “El Guaramero” Fuentes had operated a transit bus for several years but was facing dire financial circumstances when it had broken down. The government had been unable — or unwilling — to fix it. That meant he was losing money because bus drivers in Venezuela typically pocket a portion of the fares, making it nearly impossible for him to feed and clothe his family. (AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin) Villagers said they were not surprised that Fuentes, who had no nautical experience, turned to smuggling to make ends meet. The higher-level traffickers who typically crewed such boats had been staying ashore to avoid being targeted by U.S. missiles. In their place, villagers said, they had been increasingly hiring novices like Fuentes. Fuentes told friends he had been nervous about his first smuggling run, knowing it would be filled with risks from weather, rival gangs, even the U.S. military. The September trip had gone surprisingly smoothly, he told friends, and he readily agreed to join another crew. Fuentes was killed in a missile strike last month, friends said, the precise one unknown. Dotted Line with Center Square —-Konstantin Toropin contributed from Washington.—This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.—-Contact the AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/