President Donald Trump says the U.S. struck another small boat that he accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela, Oct. 14, 2025. (Pete Hegseth via X)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. forces had conducted another strike against an alleged drug smuggling vessel, killing six.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strike Tuesday morning on a vessel affiliated with a “designated terrorist organization” that was “conducting narcotrafficking” in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation.
Hegseth added a social media post that included a 34-second video of the strike.
Tuesday’s was the fifth known strike the U.S. has conducted in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, including most recently on Oct. 3, following a buildup of maritime forces in the region, including eight surface warships and more than 5,000 sailors and Marines. The strikes have killed 27 people.
The latest strike comes after the Senate voted down legislation last week that would have put a check on Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels.
The Trump administration has asserted that drug traffickers are armed combatants threatening the United States, creating justification to use military force. But that assertion has been met with some unease on Capitol Hill.
