United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that on Thursday night, under the orders of President Donald Trump, another was carried out lethal kinetic attack against a drug boat in the Caribbean that according to US intelligence was operated by the criminal group Tren de Aragua.
The vessel, according to the official report, was transporting narcotics along a known route in the Caribbean. Six men identified as narcoterrorists died during the operationwith no casualties reported among US forces.
“If you are a narcoterrorist trafficking drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you as we treat Al Qaeda. Day or night, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down and kill you,” Hegseth said in his release.
The first night attack against drug boats in the Caribbean
Hegseth specified that it was the first night attack against a drug boat in the Caribbean as part of the military campaign promoted by the Trump administration.which seeks to neutralize criminal organizations designated as transnational terrorists.
The action adds to a series of maritime operations in the Caribbean and the Pacific, where Washington claims to have sunk 9 vessels and caused the death of at least 37 people linked to drug trafficking networks.
Thursday’s attack brings to 10 the targets destroyed in recent weeks by US forces.
Since August, the Trump administration has intensified its military offensive in the Caribbean, deploying destroyers, submarines and special forces under the argument of combating drug trafficking.
The US president has described the Aragua Train as a designated terrorist organization and has directly pointed out the governments of Venezuela and Colombia as complicit in international drug trafficking.
The governments of Nicolás Maduro and Gustavo Petro have described the attacks as murders and violations of international law.
