Trump: U.S. strike on alleged drug boat off Venezuela kills six

REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/FILE PHOTO

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 9, 2025.

WASHINGTON >> A U.S. strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela today killed six suspected drug traffickers, President Donald Trump said, the latest such operation in recent weeks.

The strike is the most recent example of Trump’s efforts to use military power in new, and often legally contentious, ways, from deploying active-duty U.S. troops in Los Angeles to carrying out counter-terrorism strikes against drug trafficking suspects.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the strike had been carried out against a designated terrorist organization, but he did not provide any details on which group.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks,” Trump said, without providing evidence.

A roughly 30-second video, which Trump posted, appeared to show a stationary vessel in a body of water being hit with a projectile before exploding.

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