Sep 20, 2025 - World

U.S. conducts fourth strike against vessel transferring drugs, Trump says

Barak Ravid

President Trump signing a proclamation to overhaul the H-1B visa program on Friday. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The U.S. military conducted a strike on Friday against a vessel that was allegedly transferring drugs, President Trump said.

Why it matters: This was the fourth such strike in recent weeks as part of a broader Trump administration military campaign against drug traffickers off the coasts of Venezuela.

What he is saying: Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that the vessel was attacked in international waters in the U.S. military southern command area of responsibility. He also posted a video of the strike.

He claimed the vessel was "affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking" and that "three male narcoterrorists" were killed in the strike. No U.S. forces were harmed, Trunp noted.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans", Trump claimed.
"STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!", he stressed.

The big picture: President Trump ordered seven warships carrying 4,500 personnel — including three guided-missile destroyers and at least one attack submarine — to the waters off Venezuela.

Axios Marc Caputo wrote that even close Trump advisers aren't entirely sure whether the gunboat diplomacy is a drug trafficking operation with undertones of regime change, or a Caracas coup operation masquerading as drug enforcement.

Go deeper: Inside Trump's gunboat diplomacy with Venezuela

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U.S. conducts fourth strike against vessel transferring drugs, Trump says

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