THIS is the dramatic moment eight “narco-terrorists” are eliminated by the U.S. military, marking the latest escalation in Trump’s war on drugs.
Footage shows boats, believed to be carrying drugs, bursting into flames after being hit by U.S. missiles.
The American government is yet to provide any evidence proving that these vessels were involved in drug trafficking.
It is thought that eight people were killed in the off-shore incursion.
The U.S. military’s Southern Command said the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organisations” killing three “narco-terrorists” in the first vessel.
A further two were killed in the second boat and three in the third.
Read more about Venezuela
SHADOW STRIKE
US ‘prepares to board more Venezuela oil tankers’ & sanctions 6 others
DRUMS OF WAR
‘Take out those sons-of-bitches’: Trump steps up Venezuela war threats
Military sources added that U.S. defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, ordered the strikes.
Intelligence claimed the vessels were using known drug trafficking routes and were engaged in drug trafficking.
It remains unclear where these vessels originated, but the strikes represent the latest escalation in Donald Trump’s ongoing war on drugs.
In recent months, the U.S. has conducted several military operations in the Caribbean aimed at combating drug trafficking.
In the four months leading up to December, 23 boats have been targeted in 22 strikes, killing 87 people.
This bitter conflict has seen the White House also tackle bigger vessels in the Caribbean Sea, including near Venezuela.
Last week, American forces seized a crude oil tanker, named Skipper, off the coast of Venezuela.
Stunning footage showed commandos sweeping through the ship as they executed Trump’s boldest play to date.
Announcing the success of the operation, Trump said: “We’ve just seized a tanker of the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually.”
When asked what would happened the ship’s contents, he said: “We keep it, I guess.”
In the short term, the seizure could stymie Venezuela’s vital oil exports.
Other shippers are likely to be far more cautious about loading cargo from Venezuela’s shores, fearing a similar action.
Over the longer term, this could prove to be the first step toward a naval blockade of Venezuela.
For now, Trump is keeping his cards close to his chest.
The government in Caracas, led by President Nicolas Maduro, branded the ship’s seizure as “blatant theft” and an “act of international piracy”.
President Maduro insists the real purpose of the US military operations is to remove him from power.
Many suspect Trump wants to topple Maduro so that he can gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil supplies.
Maduro is reportedly living like a hunted man – sleeping in a different bed each night and constantly changing phones to evade would-be assassins.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order categorising fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction”.
The order instructs State and Treasury departments to pursue financial assets and sanction institutions involved in fentanyl trafficking.
It also calls for greater cooperation between the Pentagon and the Justice Department on all drug-related issues.
However, these latest strikes come as concern grows over the Trump administration’s military actions.