US blows up another drug smuggling boat off Venezuela coast, says Trump

Six suspected drug smugglers have been killed in a US attack on a boat near Venezuela’s coast, Donald Trump has said.

The US president said intelligence had confirmed it was carrying drugs and associated with “illicit narcoterrorist networks”.

Mr Trump said Tuesday’s “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters as the boat travelled an established smuggling route.

He posted a video on Truth Social showing it left in flames after what appears to be a single aerial strike.

It’s the fifth attack since the start of September after the Pentagon said the president had ruled the US was in an “armed conflict” with cartels.

Mr Trump previously said the cartels were a threat to US “national security, foreign policy, and vital US interests”.

However, some experts argue the explanation for destroying the boats does not meet the requirements under the laws of war.

Limited detail has been given about those killed in the attacks, the exact cargo being carried and where the boats were heading.

After the first attack, the president said the boat belonged to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – designated a terror group by the US in February.

However, the Venezuelan government claims the group was dismantled in 2023.

There has been a large build up of US forces in the southern Caribbean, including at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets in Puerto Rico.

Venezuela‘s President Nicolas Maduro believes the US is trying to force him out.

America is offering a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest and claims he has links to drug trafficking and criminal groups – allegations he denies.

Mr Maduro, widely considered a dictator, recently signed a decree giving himself increased security powers should the US enter the country.

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Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s national assembly and a Maduro ally, claimed on Tuesday that the US was looking for reasons to justify a possible invasion and “an excuse for aggression”.

“The objective is not the search for the truth and much less fighting drug trafficking,” he told reporters.