The attack came after the Venezuelan president said Caracas would defend itself against US "aggression".

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says the US military has destroyed an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel travelling in international waters on the way to the US. Trump said on Monday that three men were killed in the attack on "violent drug trafficking cartels". He provided no evidence that the boat was carrying drugs. Tensions between the two countries escalated after the US deployed warships to the southern Caribbean on what officials said were counter-narcotics operations, carrying out a strike which killed 11 people. "This morning, on my orders, US military forces conducted a second kinetic strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists," Trump said on Truth Social. The post also included a nearly 30 second video, which appeared to show a vessel in a body of water exploding and then bursting into flames. Speaking later from the Oval Office, Trump said that the US had recorded proof and evidence that the boats belonged to narco-terrorist groups. Trump…

Sept. 15 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said Monday the military killed three members of what he called a Venezuelan drug cartel transporting illegal narcotics across international waters to the United States.

President Donald Trump has said that the US military carried out a strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel that had been on its way to the United States, the second such strike carried out against a suspected drug boat in recent weeks.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. military carried out a strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel that had been on its way to the United States, the second such strike carried out against a suspected drug boat in recent weeks. He said three men were killed…

President Donald Trump announced Monday the U.S. military stuck a second boat he says was carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel.

The US president provided no evidence that the boat was carrying drugs at the time, but said the military operation "positively identified extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists"

The Venezuela leader, Nicolás Maduro, said that the Trump administration was trying to start a war in the Caribbean.

President Trump authorizes military strikes on drug-carrying boats from Venezuela, sparking debate over executive authority and legality.