WASHINGTON – The U.S. military revealed Wednesday it struck five vessels over the course of two days. The military conducted the strikes on suspected narco-trafficking boats. The attacks killed a total of eight people, with some allege traffickers had jumped overboard and possibly surviving.
The U.S. Southern Command issued a statement on the social media platform X. They attached footage of the initial strikes, which took place on Dec. 30. The footage shows three vessels moving in proximity. The military said they were traveling as a convoy.
“These vessels were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.”
The military confirmed that the strikes killed three people on the first boat. They further reveal that passengers on the other two vessels jumped off and swam away before they were attacked. Southern Command confirmed that it alerted the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct search and rescue procedures.
It did not confirm whether the passengers were rescued.
On Wednesday, U.S. forces struck two more boats. The strikes killed five people, Southern Command announced in a separate statement.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking. A total of five narco-terrorists were killed during these actions - three in the first vessel and two in the second.”
Southern Command did not disclose the location of the attacks that took place on Tuesday or Wednesday.
According to numbers announced by the Trump administration, these attacks bring the total to 35 boat strikes since early September. The strikes have killed a minimum of 115 people.
The Trump administration has accused the Venezuelan government of using oil revenue to fund "drug terrorism." The administration defends its actions by asserting that it is helping prevent narco-terrorism from entering the U.S.
Despite the continued pressure along the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, Trump declines to declare war on Venezuela.
