The USS Sampson, a U.S. Navy missile destroyer, docks in Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 2. The deployment comes amid a broader U.S. Naval presence in Caribbean waters following President Donald Trump’s order last month to take action against Latin American drug cartels.
Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu/via Getty
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Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu/via Getty
Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela are rising. Days after sending U.S. gunboats to South American waters, President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. Navy struck a vessel in the southern Caribbean carrying what he described as a Venezuelan drug shipment.
Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event that the operation happened “over the last few minutes, (we) literally shot out a a boat, a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.”
Moments later Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted confirmation, calling it a “lethal strike” on a vessel operated by a “designated narco-terrorist organization.”
In a later Truth Social post about the operation, Trump said 11 people were killed, calling them “terrorists,” claiming they were members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. He included a video in the post labeled “unclassified” showing a strike on a small speedboat with four outboard motors.
The strike on the vessel comes amid the Trump administration’s increasingly confrontational posture toward the Veneuelan regime. Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and has put a $50 million bounty on his head. Then just over a week ago, the U.S. deployed warships—including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group—to waters off Venezuela’s coast in a significant show of force.
Maduro claims the U.S. military buildup is a sign that Washington is trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government. In response Maduro has declared “maximum preparedness” in the country, saying that 4.5 million militia members are ready to ensure that “no empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela.” State TV network Telesur has been running extensive coverage featuring Venezuelans—including fishermen and ordinary citizens—called up for military service.
Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term as Venezuela’s president in January 2025, following an election widely criticized as fraudulent. Maduro has used Washington’s latest show of force to rally both domestic and international attention. The Venezuela government had not responded to the U.S. strike or President Trump’s claims prior to publication.
During Trump’s first term, U.S. warships were also sent to the region, with little impact. Former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela James Story, who previously worked on anti-narcotics issues at the State Department, told NPR the current administration’s policy toward Venezuela was incoherent. In July, for example, the U.S. reissued a license allowing U.S. oil company Chevron to operate there.
