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U.S. forces killed four people in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in international waters off Venezuela's coast Friday, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration's military campaign against narcotics trafficking organizations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the operation on social media, stating it was conducted "on President Trump's orders" against what he described as "narco-terrorists" transporting drugs toward the United States. The strike represents the fourth publicly disclosed attack on suspected drug boats since early September.
The operation comes after the Trump administration formally notified Congress that the United States is engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels it has designated as terrorist organizations. The notification, delivered following a Sept. 15 boat strike, marks a significant shift in how the administration characterizes its anti-narcotics operations.
"Earlier this morning, on President Trump's orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Hegseth wrote on X. "Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation."
The Defense Secretary said intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics on a known smuggling route, adding: "These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!"
Friday's operation follows three previous strikes on alleged drug vessels in the southern Caribbean Sea. The initial attack on Sept. 2 killed 11 people, according to President Trump's social media posts, while subsequent strikes on Sept. 15 and Sept. 19 killed three people each.
The administration has provided limited details about the occupants of the boats or the specific drugs allegedly on board. Trump has indicated the first two boats originated from Venezuela but has not specified the origin of the third vessel.
In its congressional notification, the White House described the three individuals killed in the Sept. 15 strike as "unlawful combatants," using terminology previously applied to Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. However, Congress has not authorized the use of military force specifically against drug cartels.
Former State Department attorney-adviser Brian Finucane questioned the administration's legal rationale, arguing that the justification for armed conflict "is not supported by the facts" and that "there has been no armed attack on the United States."
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has also challenged the operations, expressing disappointment that leaders would "glorify the idea of killing people without any sort of evidence presented as to who they are."
When pressed about legal authority for the strikes, Hegseth told reporters: "We have the absolute and complete authority to conduct that," without citing specific justification. "If foreign terrorist organizations are poisoning people with drugs from drug cartels, it is no different from Al Qaeda, and they'll be treated as such."
The strikes have heightened tensions between Washington and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of collaborating with criminal gangs, charges his regime denies.
Maduro said earlier this week he is considering declaring a state of emergency in response to U.S. "aggression," citing both the boat strikes and the deployment of several U.S. Navy vessels off Venezuelan waters.
The administration has designated multiple organizations as terrorist groups, including Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, and El Salvador's MS-13. In March, the White House invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against Tren de Aragua, accusing the group of engaging in "irregular warfare" against the United States.
A White House spokesperson defended the operations, saying President Trump "acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores."
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