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The Pentagon is vowing more military action against drug cartels after a U.S. strike in the Caribbean killed 11 people on a speedboat, though officials have offered no evidence the vessel carried narcotics.
President Donald Trump announced the raid Tuesday with a video of the boat exploding, claiming the dead were members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. His administration recently designated the group a foreign terrorist organization.
Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has provided proof linking the victims to cartels or drugs, and no legal justification has been offered for conducting a lethal strike instead of arrests.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said traffickers “will face the same fate” as those killed, calling the strike the beginning of a broader campaign. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the attack took place in international waters and warned more could come.
The move has drawn criticism from legal experts, who argue drug trafficking does not constitute an “armed attack” that would permit force under the U.N. Charter. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he previously warned Trump such strikes would be illegal.
Trump, who campaigned on promises to “show no mercy” to cartels, dismissed questions on why the boat wasn’t intercepted. “Obviously, they won’t be doing it again,” he said Wednesday.
The operation further escalates tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has denied ties to Tren de Aragua and mobilized more than 4 million militia troops in response to U.S. naval deployments near the country’s coast.
With information from Time.com.
