U.S. Kills Six in Strike on Suspected Narco-Boat in Caribbean

The United States is maintaining military pressure in the Caribbean, conducting its tenth nighttime strike against a suspected narco-boat, with a toll of six dead, announced Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth this Friday.

The vessel was operating for the Tren de Aragua cartel, the Defense Secretary stated on the social media platform X. "Our intelligence services knew the vessel was involved in narcotics smuggling," he added. The strike took place in "international waters."

According to an AFP tally based on Pentagon data, 43 people have been killed so far in the U.S. maritime offensive.

This was the first nighttime strike in the area, explained Hegseth, who accompanied his message with a black-and-white video showing a boat moving at normal speed until it explodes.

"If you are a narcoterrorist smuggling narcotics in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al Qaeda," added the Pentagon Chief. "Whether day or NIGHT, we will track your routes, pursue your people, hunt you, and kill you."

Left-wing governments in the region, such as Venezuela and Colombia, are protesting what they consider lethal strikes without proof.

"Extrajudicial Executions"

The United States is committing "extrajudicial executions," stated Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday, who is engaged in a particular dispute with White House occupant Donald Trump.

The Republican president signaled at the start of his current term that he was willing to use the full potential of U.S. military power to dismantle drug trafficking routes and cartel leaders. To this end, he declared cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua "terrorist organizations" via presidential decree.

According to the administration, this would allow Washington to utilize the same tools it used globally for two decades following the Al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001.

The United States is in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels, Trump explained in a letter sent to Congress.

The president claims that maritime drug trafficking has been virtually eradicated. However, the pace of missile strikes against vessels has increased. Simultaneously, the president increasingly alludes to his willingness to take action against "narcoterrorist" interests on land, without specifying where.

Venezuela has mobilized troops and militias in response to this level of aggression.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—accused by the U.S. government and officially indicted in a New York court for leading the so-called Cartel of the Suns—asserts that Washington's true intention is to promote a regime change in his country.

Trump has confirmed that the CIA could carry out covert operations within Venezuela, a statement criticized by numerous countries in the region.

Democratic opposition in Congress has also demanded explanations. The Constitution specifies that Congress must expressly authorize a declaration of war.

Trump stated on Thursday that he is willing to send Hegseth before Congress to provide explanations before moving to a new, land-based phase.

One country in the region that has so far supported the strikes in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela, is Trinidad and Tobago. Last week, in a statement, its government reiterated "its categorical and clear support for the ongoing military intervention."