U.S. Navy Strikes Another Boat Off Venezuelan Coast, Russia Condemns Action

burning boat — Screengrab from X video posted by The White House

The United States carried out another strike on a vessel alleged to be carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday.

Speaking at Naval Station Norfolk beside the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, Trump indicated that the United States may expand its operations to target land-based drug trafficking routes.

He said the Navy had recently carried out multiple actions to intercept what he described as “cartel terrorists” at sea. He claimed the latest strike was part of this mission, adding that traffickers no longer appeared to be using maritime routes.

“They’re not coming in by sea any more, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land,” he added.

Earlier this morning, on President Trump’s orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the… pic.twitter.com/QpNPljFcGn

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 3, 2025

It was unclear whether Trump was referring to a new operation on Saturday or reiterating a strike that had already been reported on Friday. U.S. authorities have not independently confirmed the details of the Saturday operation.

In the earlier incident, U.S. forces killed four people while targeting a vessel said to be carrying large amounts of narcotics to the United States. Washington described this as part of its effort to combat organised drug trafficking.

Russia strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a dangerous escalation in the Caribbean. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with his Venezuelan counterpart to express concern, noting the strike took place in international waters and warning it could have serious consequences for the region.

BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU! The illicit activities by these cartels have wrought DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens. NO LONGER. pic.twitter.com/XHTDpWp6h7

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 15, 2025

Russia also cautioned that U.S. operations might extend beyond maritime interdiction, linking them potentially to situations such as unrest in Haiti.

Moscow reiterated its full support for Venezuela’s government and opposed expanding international security operations in the Caribbean, as recently discussed at the United Nations.

Recently, Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained from a UN Security Council vote proposed by the U.S. and Panama to expand an existing security mission in Haiti.

Reference: Reuters

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