Trump says US troops killed 11 cartel suspects on a Caribbean strike
President Donald Trump has announced that the US forces killed 11 Tren de Aragua members on a naval strike during the escalation of their counter-drug operations.
The US military killed 11 Trenda Aragua members on September 2 on a suspicious drug ship that originated from Venezuela in the southern Caribbean.
The move, announced by President Donald Trump at a press conference, marks a milestone in the increasingly militarized US counter-drug efforts in the region. Trump secretly approved military force against drug cartels in early August.
Trump explained the strike in a post about True Society.
“This morning, on my order, the US military launched a campaign attack on Tren Aragua Narcoterrorists who were actively identified against Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the responsible Southcom area,” Trump said. “The strike occurred when terrorists were transporting illegal drugs and were in the ocean in international waters heading to the US. The strike was killed in action with 11 terrorists.”
Later that day, the White House posted a rough black and white “uncategorized” video that was allegedly shown an open boat on the high seas as it was taken out on a military strike and engulfed in flames. “In video: The US military has taken a strike against Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists,” the X post said.
A considerable US fleet is now floating in the body of strike waters. A Tomahawk Cruise Missile and four destroyers carrying more than 4,500 Marines and seafarers are deployed in the area.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed to reporters on September 1 that Trump was “seeking a change of administration due to military threats.” He insisted that his country’s army was “very prepared” to confront the US troops when necessary.
Trump has picked out Maduro in the post of Truth, claiming that Tren de Aragua is “run under the control of Nicolas Maduro.” US authorities are offering a $50 million reward for his arrest.
Members of the US law enforcement and the Coast Guard previously had fatal sea encounters with drug smugglers in the Caribbean.
Derek Martz, the administrator of Trump’s previous acting DEA, praised Trump for launching a military strike and told USA Today that a fatal US attack on drug-loaded cartel ships was rare, if not unprecedented, and was postponed for a long time.
“I don’t know the top of my head on a military strike on a boat packed with drugs. I don’t remember in my time at the DEA,” Marz said. “I’m not saying that it didn’t happen in terms of using DOD assets on things like this. We’ve been working very closely with Colombia in years of training and military operations, as well as in a variety of essentially sensitive businesses.”
“From my point of view, it’s a very important event, but very consistent with what President Trump wanted,” Martz told USA Today. “I have long said that law enforcement solutions are not sufficient to address these global terrorists operating in the Western Hemisphere, the same as when al-Qaeda, Isis or Hezbollah is running a chemical weapons boat road.”
White House officials said they could not comment on what intelligence or evidence was used to determine that those killed in the military strike were members of Tren de Aragua. “These individuals were TDA narcoterrorists,” the official said. Speaking about the terms of anonymity, they were not permitted to comment by name. “We have not commented on issues of intelligence with the media.”
Kenneth Ross, a Princeton professor of public and international affairs and former executive director of Human Rights Watch, criticized the strike.
“Drug trafficking is not an act of war, it’s a crime, I said in X.
The Trump administration designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, as well as Venezuelan crime group Trender Lagua, as a global terrorist organization in February, and Trump strengthened immigration enforcement against gang members.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials said the administration could use the military to chase cartels containing deadly forces.
Contributions: Reuters; Joseph Garrison, USA Today
