(NewsNation) — The U.S. military Tuesday destroyed a three-vessel convoy of alleged drug boats, killing at least three alleged narco-terrorists before launching a search for survivors, U.S. Southern Command announced on social media.
“These vessels were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes,” SOUTHCOM said Wednesday on X with an accompanying video of the Dec. 30 attack.
Officials said three individuals were killed aboard the first vessel with the initial strike, whereupon alleged narco-terrorists abandoned the other two boats “before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels.”
The U.S. Coast Guard went into search-and-rescue mode, said SOUTHCOM, which did not offer additional details.
The announcement did not say where the deadly strike occurred, but the Pentagon has built up forces in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as the Trump Administration puts pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The White House has accused him of aiding drug traffickers in their attempts to flood the U.S. with illegal drugs.
In September, the Department of Defense began conducting “kinetic strikes” on dozens of alleged drug boats, killing more than 100 people to date. The strategy has spurred debate in Washington, largely along partisan lines, about whether Republican President Trump is exceeding his executive powers.
More recently, the Trump administration has shifted to seizing sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers in a bid to cripple the country’s economy.
