Trump administration announces 17th deadly strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean Sea

Trump administration announces 17th deadly strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean Sea

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday (November 7, 2025) announced another deadly U.S. strike on a boat he said was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.

The attack Thursday (November 7) killed three people aboard the vessel, Mr. Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration's campaign in South American waters up to at least 69 people in at least 17 strikes.

Mr. Hegseth posted a 20-second video of the strike on social media and wrote, “As we've said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their ... poisoning of the American people stops.” He claimed the vessel was “operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation.”

Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO).

Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known… pic.twitter.com/OsQuHrYLMp

President Donald Trump has justified the strikes by saying the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organisations. The administration has not provided evidence or more details.

Mr. Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed a small group of congressional leaders Wednesday (November 6) on the growing military campaign, providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes.

Republicans emerged either staying silent or expressing confidence in the campaign. Democrats said Congress needs more information on how the strikes are conducted and the legal justification for actions that critics say violate international and U.S. law by killing alleged drug smugglers on the high seas.

On Thursday (November 7), Senate Republicans voted to reject legislation that would have put a check on Mr. Trump's ability to launch an attack against Venezuela, as Democrats pressed Congress to take a stronger role in Mr. Trump's high-stakes campaign against President Nicolas Maduro.

Published - November 07, 2025 10:41 am IST

World / Venezuela / USA / Donald Trump

Source: The Hindu
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