WASHINGTON — The U.S. military carried out another strike on a vessel suspected of trafficking narcotics off the coast of Venezuela, killing all six people on board, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, according to CNN.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the vessel was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” but he did not name the group or provide evidence. He said intelligence confirmed the boat was tied to “illicit narcoterrorist networks” and traveling along a known drug trafficking route. The strike took place in international waters and no U.S. forces were harmed, he said.
It was at least the fifth such strike publicly acknowledged by the United States. The Pentagon announced a similar operation in early October, CNN reported.
The strike is likely to further strain tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has warned he may declare a state of emergency to defend the country from a potential U.S. attack. It also raises continued questions about the legality of the operations.
In a letter to Congress, the Pentagon said Trump had determined the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels that his administration has designated as terrorist organizations, and that smugglers for the cartels are considered “unlawful combatants,” CNN previously reported.
Even some conservatives have expressed unease. In at least one previous case, a targeted boat had already turned around before being hit, indicating it did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. or its forces, CNN reported.
Earlier this month, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he would co-sponsor a War Powers Resolution to prevent the president from unilaterally conducting such strikes.
“Blowing up boats without due process could risk unintended escalation and trigger regime change efforts — an approach history has repeatedly shown to fail,” Paul said on X. “Congress must reassert its authority.”
Paul also criticized Vice President JD Vance last month after Vance praised a previous strike.
“What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial,” Paul said.
During an event at the White House with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referenced the strikes while promoting economic cooperation.
“We’re using our economic strength to create peace,” Bessent said. “It is much better to form an economic bridge with our allies, people who want to do the right thing, than have to — shoot at narco gun boats.”
Trump also posted an unclassified video of the latest strike, according to CNN.