The United States attacked a drug-laden ship bound for the United States from Venezuela on Tuesday, according to a statement from Donald Trump himself in the Oval Office. The Department of Defense later published a video of the exact moment the barge was attacked in the South Caribbean.

The footage shows a small, three-engine boat loaded with a group of people and what appear to be several bags sailing through the sea seconds before being intercepted. An explosion can then be seen, as flames and smoke billow from the boat.

The images were released by the Department of Defense. US President Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social network that"11 terrorists" were killed in the attack.

The ship attacked by the United States. They say it was loaded with drugs from Venezuela.

The incident marks a clear escalation of tensions between the United States and Venezuela. In recent days, the Republican president ordered the deployment of vessels to the Southern Caribbean to intercept drug trafficking operations. Nicolás Maduro warned that he would respond to any attack against Venezuela.

"U.S. forces fired on a vessel (...) that was carrying a lot of drugs. So we took it out," Trump said at the White House. He said the people on the barge were members of the Tren de Aragua group, which Argentina declared a terrorist organization last February.

"The U.S. military carried out a lethal attack," Secretary of State Marco Rubio added, shortly before beginning an official visit to Mexico on Wednesday. The United States"will use all its power to confront and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they operate from."

New escalation

The announcement came after days of rising tensions between Washington and Caracas, which severed relations in 2019.

Maduro has declared a state of maximum alert to defend himself against what he calls U.S. military threats. Trump has not threatened to invade Venezuela.

Washington accuses Maduro of leading a drug cartel and has framed the Caribbean deployment as"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," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In return, Caracas announced on Monday the deployment of 15,000 security forces to the border with Colombia for anti-drug trafficking operations.