The U.S. military carried out a second strike against Venezuelan drug-trafficking operatives in international waters, President Donald Trump said, announcing that three suspected narcoterrorists were killed and that no U.S. forces were harmed.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the operation as a “SECOND Kinetic Strike” ordered by him and said the strike targeted “positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists” in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. He said the vessel was transporting illegal narcotics headed to the United States and characterized those drugs as a “deadly weapon poisoning Americans.”
Trump said a video of the strike was posted alongside his message. He wrote that the illicit activities of the cartels have had “devastating consequences on American communities for decades” and warned those transporting narcotics that U.S. forces were “hunting you.”
The president described the action as part of a continuing crackdown on transnational drug groups that Washington identifies as threats to U.S. national security and vital interests. He identified the targets as Venezuelan-linked traffickers but did not provide further operational details such as the vessel’s flag, exact location, or the units involved.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded by accusing the United States of seeking “regime change through military threat,” saying the strike occurred amid what he described as a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean. Maduro’s office has previously condemned U.S. actions as violations of Venezuelan sovereignty; it did not immediately provide independent confirmation of casualties from the strike.
The administration has used the term “kinetic strike” in recent days to describe lethal operations intended to disrupt drug shipments and cartel leaders accused of orchestrating trafficking and violence in the Western Hemisphere. This is the second such publicly announced strike in recent weeks involving suspected Venezuelan-linked smuggling operations. Trump said the most recent action resulted in three male combatants killed in action.
U.S. Southern Command, which has responsibility for military operations in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions, has increased patrols and surveillance aimed at intercepting drug shipments bound for the United States. Officials have argued those operations are intended to degrade the capability of transnational criminal organizations that supply illicit narcotics to the U.S. market.
Humanitarian and diplomatic concerns have been raised by Venezuela and some international observers about the use of force in and around the country’s maritime approaches. The U.S. has maintained that operations in international waters are lawful when directed against transnational criminal networks that pose a threat to U.S. citizens and interests.
The strike follows a broader U.S. push to combat fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, which U.S. authorities say have contributed to a rise in overdose deaths nationally. The White House and Pentagon have previously cited the transnational nature of trafficking networks and their links to violent criminal groups as rationale for using military assets alongside law enforcement and partner-nation efforts.
The U.S. government has not released a formal operational report detailing the unit or platform used in the strike, the timeline of the engagement, or the identities of those killed. Venezuelan authorities and independent international monitors have not independently verified the casualty figures provided by the U.S. president.
The incident adds to tensions between Washington and Caracas, which have been strained by mutual accusations over drug trafficking, political interference and regional military activity. The situation remains fluid as U.S. officials and Venezuelan authorities continue to issue statements, and further details were expected to emerge as officials brief lawmakers and international partners.