3 killed in US strike on 2nd alleged Venezuelan drug boat, Trump says A first strike on an alleged drug boat killed 11 people earlier this month
By Anne Flaherty and Luis Martinez/ABC News
September 15, 2025, 6:19 PM ET
President Donald Trump said Monday that he ordered another military strike against a boat that he insists was carrying illegal drugs from Venezuela to the U.S., telling reporters the operation left three people dead and "big bags of cocaine and fentanyl" floating around in the ocean.
"The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action," he wrote in a social media post. "No U.S. Forces were harmed in this Strike. BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!"
The strike was the second of its kind in less than two weeks in what appears to be an unprecedented use of lethal military force against a criminal enterprise. In the past, the U.S. government has relied on the U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement personnel to board vessels for inspection, much as it did on Friday.
But earlier this year, Trump insisted that drug cartels should be in the same legal category as foreign terrorist organizations, paving the way for the kind of lethal military force reserved under the law to prevent an imminent kinetic attack against Americans.
Critics of his administration have questioned this legal justification and whether it amounts to a war crime. While much of the pushback came from Democrats, Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul said he disagreed with Vice President J.D. Vance that it was a noble use of the military.
"What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial," Paul wrote on X earlier this month.
It was not immediately clear where or how the boat was struck in the latest incident and whether a drone was used in the attack. In a video Trump posted to a social media, a small boat can be seen bobbing the water before being struck, resulting in a cloud of black smoke.
U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region, referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately provide details.
When asked by reporters about the strike, Trump said the incident occurred in international waters and insisted "we have proof" that the boat was carrying drugs because of the cargo in the ocean.
"Big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place," he said.
Trump also said there was "recorded evidence" of wrongdoing, but did not provide specifics on what kind or what was said.
"We've recorded them those very careful because we know you people would be after us. We're very careful," he said.
On Sept. 2, Trump announced the military struck another boat, killing 11 people on board. Trump insisted the boat was carrying a "massive amounts of drugs" and was operated by members of the South American gang Tren de Aragua.
He also insisted the boat was headed toward the U.S., although there appears to be questions about the boat's intentions. According to one person familiar with the operation, the boat had turned around and was headed back to shore shortly before the strike. That detail was first reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal last week.
Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said last Thursday on state television that none of the members of the crew were part of Tren de Aragua or drug traffickers.
In a separate incident on Sept. 12, U.S. personnel boarded a civilian fishing boat. A U.S. official told ABC News that Coast Guard personnel stationed aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham searched the boat for drugs following a tip but did not locate any contraband.
Trump has overseen a significant buildup of troops in the region, with eight Navy ships and 10 F-35 fighter jets assigned to U.S. Southern Command, sources say. According to photographs published by Reuters, at least one armed MQ-9 Reaper drone has also been located at a civilian airport in Puerto Rico.
The administration has not provided its legal justification for the Sept. 2 military strike, although officials say they have designated the cartels terrorist organizations.
In an interview with Newsmax, Trump's counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka said the cartels have declared war on the US. and that's why Trump opted to designate them as terrorists.
"When you do a foreign terrorist organization designation, a panoply of options opens up for you that you otherwise don't have," he said.
September 15, 2025, 6:19 PM ET
President Donald Trump said Monday that he ordered another military strike against a boat that he insists was carrying illegal drugs from Venezuela to the U.S., telling reporters the operation left three people dead and "big bags of cocaine and fentanyl" floating around in the ocean.
"The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action," he wrote in a social media post. "No U.S. Forces were harmed in this Strike. BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!"
The strike was the second of its kind in less than two weeks in what appears to be an unprecedented use of lethal military force against a criminal enterprise. In the past, the U.S. government has relied on the U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement personnel to board vessels for inspection, much as it did on Friday.
But earlier this year, Trump insisted that drug cartels should be in the same legal category as foreign terrorist organizations, paving the way for the kind of lethal military force reserved under the law to prevent an imminent kinetic attack against Americans.
Critics of his administration have questioned this legal justification and whether it amounts to a war crime. While much of the pushback came from Democrats, Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul said he disagreed with Vice President J.D. Vance that it was a noble use of the military.
"What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial," Paul wrote on X earlier this month.
It was not immediately clear where or how the boat was struck in the latest incident and whether a drone was used in the attack. In a video Trump posted to a social media, a small boat can be seen bobbing the water before being struck, resulting in a cloud of black smoke.
U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region, referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately provide details.
When asked by reporters about the strike, Trump said the incident occurred in international waters and insisted "we have proof" that the boat was carrying drugs because of the cargo in the ocean.
"Big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place," he said.
Trump also said there was "recorded evidence" of wrongdoing, but did not provide specifics on what kind or what was said.
"We've recorded them those very careful because we know you people would be after us. We're very careful," he said.
On Sept. 2, Trump announced the military struck another boat, killing 11 people on board. Trump insisted the boat was carrying a "massive amounts of drugs" and was operated by members of the South American gang Tren de Aragua.
He also insisted the boat was headed toward the U.S., although there appears to be questions about the boat's intentions. According to one person familiar with the operation, the boat had turned around and was headed back to shore shortly before the strike. That detail was first reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal last week.
Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said last Thursday on state television that none of the members of the crew were part of Tren de Aragua or drug traffickers.
In a separate incident on Sept. 12, U.S. personnel boarded a civilian fishing boat. A U.S. official told ABC News that Coast Guard personnel stationed aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham searched the boat for drugs following a tip but did not locate any contraband.
Trump has overseen a significant buildup of troops in the region, with eight Navy ships and 10 F-35 fighter jets assigned to U.S. Southern Command, sources say. According to photographs published by Reuters, at least one armed MQ-9 Reaper drone has also been located at a civilian airport in Puerto Rico.
The administration has not provided its legal justification for the Sept. 2 military strike, although officials say they have designated the cartels terrorist organizations.
In an interview with Newsmax, Trump's counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka said the cartels have declared war on the US. and that's why Trump opted to designate them as terrorists.
"When you do a foreign terrorist organization designation, a panoply of options opens up for you that you otherwise don't have," he said.
