Trump says US conducted second strike on Venezuelan drug vessel killing three
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The news: US President Donald Trump said the US military conducted a second strike on a vessel ferrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three men in international waters.
Trump described the targets as “extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists” and again posted a video showing the vessel engulfed by fire. He said no US forces were harmed.
The context: The strike came about two weeks after US forces killed 11 alleged Tren de Aragua members aboard a suspected drug boat in the southern Caribbean, an action that spiked tensions with Venezuela and drew criticism from neighbours, Democratic lawmakers and legal scholars questioning its legality.
On Friday, the Venezuelan government accused the US military of intercepting ‘harmless’ fishing boats from the country, and President Nicolas Maduro later said Washington was waging ‘an ongoing aggression of military character’ against his country.
Trump warned more strikes could follow and has not ruled out US action inside Venezuela.
The sources: Donald Trump, Bloomberg, USA Today, Al Jazeera
