The defense secretary said the attack was ordered by President Trump and targeted “narco-terrorists.”
The United States has again attacked a ship in the Caribbean, killing at least three crew members, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Hegseth said in a post on X late Saturday that the attack was carried out on the orders of US President Donald Trump and targeted vessels “known by our intelligence community to be involved in illegal drug smuggling.”
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He said “three male narco-terrorists” were on board the ship during the attack, which took place in international waters.
All three died, he added.
Saturday’s attack followed a series of bombings on Wednesday that killed four men and on Monday that killed 14 people.
The operation, which began in early September, left more than 62 people dead, including Venezuelan and Colombian nationals, and destroyed 14 boats and one semi-submersible.
The Trump administration has said the attacks targeted suspected drug smugglers, but has not yet provided the public with evidence to back up that claim.
Critics say the strikes are a form of extrajudicial killing and a violation of international law, which primarily prohibits countries from using deadly military force against non-combatants outside a conflict zone.
In a statement Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the attack and its growing human toll as “unacceptable”.
“The United States must stop these attacks and take all necessary steps to prevent the extrajudicial killings of those aboard these boats, regardless of the alleged criminal activity,” Turk said.
The attack came against the backdrop of a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, nuclear submarines and thousands of troops.
The Trump administration has ordered the Ford Carrier Strike Group to the region, and it is expected to arrive in the Caribbean within the next few weeks.
The US camp has escalated tensions with Venezuela and Colombia, with the Venezuelan government condemning the attack as illegal and an invasion of the country.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has beefed up security powers and deployed tens of thousands of troops across the country, has also accused Trump of seeking regime change, a claim the U.S. president has downplayed.
In August, the U.S. government doubled the reward to $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of ties to drug trafficking and criminal organizations.
President Trump also previously acknowledged authorizing the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.
Earlier Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “excessive military force” deployed by the United States in the Caribbean and reaffirmed its support for Venezuelan leaders.
“These actions violate both U.S. domestic law and international law norms,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on the ministry’s website.
It added that Russia “affirms its firm support for the Venezuelan leadership in defending national sovereignty.”
