US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US military had carried out an attack on a ship belonging to an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel that was sailing towards the United States, the second such attack on a suspected drug ship in recent weeks.
He said three men were killed in the attack, adding that the attack took place in international waters. Trump did not provide evidence to support his claim that the ship was transporting drugs.
“This morning, at my direction, the United States military conducted a SECOND kinetic strike against positively identified, extremely violent drug cartels and narco-terrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“These extremely violent drug cartels REPRESENT A THREAT to the national security, foreign policy, and vital interests of the United States,” Trump added.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is a combatant command of the military that covers 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.
The post also included a nearly 30-second video, marked “Unclassified” at the top, that appeared to show a vessel in the water exploding and then catching fire.
Later on Monday, Trump said that “we have proof, all you have to do is look at the cargo that was… scattered across the ocean, big bags of cocaine and fentanyl.”
Reuters conducted initial checks of the video using artificial intelligence detection tools, but the video was partially blurred, making it impossible to confirm whether there had been any manipulation.
Venezuela’s communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
