Trump confirms U.S. strike on Venezuelan boat

President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the U.S. destroyed a Venezuelan boat off that country's waters as Washington increasingly uses military force in a bid to shut down maritime drug trafficking.

"Under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief, this morning, the Secretary of War, ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela," he posted on Truth Social.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route," he continued. "The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. No U.S. Forces were harmed."

The strike marked the fifth such U.S. attack on Venezuelan vessels in a campaign that has seen some libertarian-leaning Republicans increasingly voice their frustrations with Trump's exercise of executive authority.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.