The U.S. has significantly escalated its anti-drug operations in the Caribbean, with President Trump announcing another strike on a vessel off Venezuela's coast, bringing the total to at least four recent attacks that have resulted in over 20 deaths. Trump threatened further land-based action in Venezuela, having designated drug cartels as "unlawful combatants" in a "non-international armed conflict," a stance supported by Defense Secretary Hegseth who affirmed full authorization for these strikes. This aggressive military posture, justified by the U.S. on national security grounds, has drawn strong condemnation from Russia, which warned of regional escalation, and from Venezuela, while legal experts question the strikes' compliance with international law and due process.
Trump says US hit ‘drug boat’ off Venezuela, vows land crackdown next The US has launched four attacks on the Caribbean region in recent weeks as part of what it says is a war on drugs. American forces have struck another vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off Venezuela’s coast, according to United States President Donald Trump, who appeared to threaten further action inside Venezuelan territory. Speaking at Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday beside the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, Trump praised the Navy’s efforts to combat what he called “cartel terrorists”, noting that another vessel had been hit on Saturday. Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Venezuela Foreign Ministry warns of ‘immoral military threat’ from US - list 2 of 3Venezuela’s Maduro ready to declare state of emergency if US attacks - list 3 of 3Trump memo says US in ‘non-international armed conflict’ with cartels “In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water … we did another one last night. Now we just can’t find any,” Trump said. While the president referred to a Saturday attack, it remains unclear whether he really meant Friday’s attack or an additional one. “They’re not coming in by sea any more, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land,” he added in an apparent threat to strike Venezuela. US claims that it is targeting drug traffickers could not be independently verified. Russia, meanwhile, condemned US strikes on a boat allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela that killed four people on Friday and warned of potential escalation in the entire Caribbean region. In a phone call to his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the attack, which took place in international waters. “The ministers expressed serious concern about Washington’s escalating actions in the Caribbean Sea that are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region,” according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the conversation. “The Russian side has confirmed its full support and solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela in the current context.” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News in an interview on Sunday that he had “every authorisation needed” to conduct military strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela. He did not provide more details about what the authorisation granted his office permission to do. In a post on X following Friday’s strike, Hegseth claimed the vessel was transporting “substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people”. “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!,” he said. In a nearly 40-second video of the strike shared by Hegseth, a vessel can be seen moving through the water before a web of projectiles falls on the boat and the surrounding water, causing the boat to explode on impact. He claimed that the intelligence “without a doubt” confirmed that the vessel was carrying drugs and that the people on board were “narco-terrorists”. He disclosed neither the amount nor the type of alleged drugs aboard, and he did not release any evidence to support his assertion that the targets of the strike were drug smugglers. US war against drug cartels The latest strikes bring the number of such US attacks to at least four, perhaps five, with at least 21 people dead. Trump notified Congress on Thursday that his administration had determined that members of drug cartels are “unlawful combatants” with whom the US is engaged in “non-international armed conflict”. Trump on Sunday told reporters at the White House that the US military build-up in the Caribbean had halted drug trafficking from South America. “There’s no drugs coming into the water. And we’ll look at what phase two is,” he said. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US is hoping to drive him out of power. Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on Thursday – when the country blasted an “illegal incursion” near its borders by US warplanes – that US attacks were “a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation”. Washington has cited the US Constitution, war powers, designation of drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”, the right to self-defence and international law on unlawful combatants as the legal basis for the strikes. Some legal experts and lawmakers argue that using military force in international waters against alleged criminals bypasses due process, violates law enforcement norms, lacks a clear legal foundation under US and international law, and is not justified by the cartels’ “terrorist” designation. The United States has materially escalated its military posture in the Caribbean, executing at least four strikes against vessels off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in a reported 21 fatalities. President Trump has framed this as a war against "cartel terrorists," threatening a subsequent land-based crackdown and formally notifying Congress of a "non-international armed conflict." This aggressive stance, which the Defense Secretary confirms is fully authorized, is predicated on unverified intelligence and bypasses traditional law enforcement norms, raising significant legal questions among experts regarding its compliance with U.S. and international law. The actions have triggered a sharp geopolitical response, with Russia condemning the strikes and warning of "far-reaching consequences for the region," while Venezuela perceives them as a direct threat. The situation introduces considerable geopolitical uncertainty, with a high market impact score of 0.65 reflecting the risk of further escalation in a region critical to energy and shipping lanes. The mention of Fox Corp (FOX, FOXA) is incidental, as it served only as a media platform for the Defense Secretary's comments and carries no direct financial implications for the company.
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