On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 2, US President Donald Trump shared a video of the exact moment US military forces attacked a drug-laden boat in the Caribbean that, according to the president, came from Venezuela. According to him, some 11 narco-terrorists were killed.
The attack occurred amid the extensive military deployment announced by the United States in the Caribbean, the largest since the invasion of Panama, and which involved the transfer of a large group of vessels and warships near the coast of Venezuela.
On his Truth Social account, a social network he owns, Donald Trump announced that the operation against the vessel took place on Tuesday morning and that he targeted"narco-terrorists of the Aragua Train."
According to its publication, Tren de Aragua"is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolás Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terrorism in the United States and the Western Hemisphere."
According to the president, the attack occurred while the vessel"was in international waters transporting illegal narcotics bound for the United States," so the troops acted on his orders. According to his information, at least 11 narco-terrorists died in the attack.
https://t.co/o5xOQ6HRFg
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 2, 2025
In the video shared by Trump, infrared images of the small boat can be seen, and some people can be seen inside. A second shot shows what appears to be a drone attacking the boat, causing an immediate explosion.
Trump, who asserted that no members of the Armed Forces were injured in the incident, indicated that this operation serves as a warning to anyone trying to bring drugs into the United States. And he wrote:"Beware! Thank you for your attention!"
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the operation a"lethal attack in the southern Caribbean" against a drug ship that had departed from Venezuela.
So far, Venezuelan authorities have not commented on the news, which could further increase tensions with Nicolás Maduro's regime.
The United States has already deployed more than seven missile-equipped military ships and a nuclear-powered submarine to areas of the Caribbean Sea near the Venezuelan coast to combat drug trafficking that is "polluting" the streets of the North American country.
The military deployment, however, has raised alarm bells in Caracas over the possibility that this could be a Trump operation against Nicolás Maduro's regime.
Asked whether the United States plans to attack Venezuela, Rubio stated that this is"an anti-drug operation." "The days of acting with impunity, disabling an engine with gunfire or seizing a couple of drug shipments from a ship are over," he said.
In response to Washington's actions, Nicolás Maduro said Monday that his country faces what he considers to be the"greatest threat ever seen" in America "in the last hundred years" and assured that his nation would declare itself "in arms" in the event of an aggression.
