“Venezuela has been very bad,” US President Donald Trump said in his first public comments since reporting Tuesday that US forces attacked a boat from Venezuela that they believed was transporting drugs to the United States, killing all 11 people on board in international waters in the Caribbean. Appearing in the Oval Office alongside Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Trump justified the operation by arguing that Washington has recordings of those on board that prove they were drug traffickers, while the Pentagon warned that such attacks will happen again.
“You have massive quantities of drugs. We have recordings of them talking. These were massive quantities of drugs that were going to come into our country to kill a lot of people, and everyone understands that. In fact, you can see the bales and the drugs all over the ship. They're not going to do it anymore,” the US president said regarding an operation about which numerous unknowns still remain: from its legality to why they didn't simply intercept the boat, to what type of illegal substances the United States believes were being transported in the cargo. Questions that Trump has not addressed in his comments.
The attack is the first known attack since the United States deployed a flotilla of military ships, including three destroyers, with more than 4,000 troops on board last month to international waters in the southern Caribbean near Venezuelan territorial waters. The argument used is the fight against drug trafficking. Since his return to the White House, Trump has exponentially increased the pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; pressure that increasingly focuses on linking the Chavista leader to drug trafficking.
Trump reiterated that the attack, captured in a video the president himself shared on social media, serves as a warning to drug traffickers who might be tempted to bring drugs into the United States:"I think a lot of people aren't going to do that again. When they see that video, they're going to say, 'Let's not do it.' We have to protect our country."
But it's also a warning to the Venezuelan government."Venezuela has been a bad actor. They've sent millions of people to this country. Many belong to the Tren de Aragua gang, some of the worst criminal gangs in the world… Venezuela has been very bad, both in terms of drugs and in sending us some of the worst criminals in the world."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on an official visit to Mexico, echoed Trump's sentiments, reports Sara España."If you go on a boat to the United States loaded with drugs, you expose yourself to attack," he concluded. Rubio, one of the Trump administration's strongmen and leading figure in foreign policy, emphasized that the US president had the opportunity to use force to"eliminate a direct threat" to his country's security "and is willing to do it again."
“It could happen again; tomorrow or in a week,” warned the Secretary of State, who was emphatic in describing the groups that use the maritime routes to his country as “narcoterrorists” and who, until now, have managed to operate with a degree of impunity, assuming only that they will lose “1% or 2%” of their drug shipments. “They are not simply individuals who commit crimes; they are organizations; they are a direct threat” to the national security of his country, and also to the stability of Latin America, he stated in a joint press conference with Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente. The head of Foreign Affairs of Claudia Sheinbaum's administration distanced himself from Rubio in a very diplomatic manner and noted that Mexico is a country of peace, which establishes relations with all countries that seek relations with them. “We believe in self-determination, in non-intervention. These principles govern our foreign policy.”
Shortly before Trump and Rubio spoke, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had warned that military operations against drug cartels would continue. The Pentagon chief's remarks set the stage for a sustained military campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America.
“We have resources in the air, resources on the water, resources on ships, because this is a very serious mission for us, and it won't stop with just this attack,” Hegseth told Fox News. “Anyone else who trafficked in those waters and who we know is a designated narco-terrorist will suffer the same fate,” he said.
Like the president, the Secretary of Defense has not provided details about how the operation was carried out, citing the information as classified. The video shows the boat moving through the water and bursting into flames as it was hit. But it is unknown whether the boat was destroyed by a drone, a torpedo, or some other means. Hegseth also has not clarified why the decision was made to kill the boat's occupants, nor has he provided details about who was on board.
The Trump administration's direct targeting of Maduro has raised alarm in Caracas that his government could be the real target. Last month, the United States doubled the reward for information leading to the Venezuelan leader's arrest to $50 million, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups.
Venezuelan officials have repeatedly said that Tren de Aragua is no longer operating in their country after it was dismantled during a prison raid in 2023.
Venezuelan Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez suggested in a social media post that the video Trump shared was created using artificial intelligence.
