A U.S. military operation striking a drug smuggling vessel killed six traffickers on board off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
The strike, ordered by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, hit the vessel that intelligence found was connected to an unnamed narco-terrorist organization.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known [Designated Terrorist Organization] route,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike.”
He added: “No U.S. Forces were harmed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!”
Hegseth posted a video of the strike on X.
https://t.co/AYyPZuUsm9 pic.twitter.com/1gY3vBnvqa
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 14, 2025
It’s the fifth strike the Trump administration has used against drug cartels that it’s designated as foreign terrorist organizations, according to Fox News.
The Department of War last week established a joint task force within U.S. Southern Command, which operates in the Caribbean, “to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe,” Hegseth said.
At the President’s direction, the Department of War is establishing a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in the @SOUTHCOM area of responsibility to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe. The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will…
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 10, 2025
“The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold,” he added.
