Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated that more Venezuelan narcotraffickers would ‘meet the same outcome’ as the 11 Tren de Aragua members who were killed on Tuesday during a U.S. military operation.

Hegseth appeared on Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning to issue the threat. 

‘We have assets airborne, in the water, and on ships, because this mission is critically important to us, and it doesn’t conclude with just this strike,’ stated Hegseth.

‘Anyone else trafficking in those waters who we know is a designated Narco terrorist will face the same fate,’ he added. 

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. strike on Tuesday from the Oval Office.

During his Wednesday meeting with the Polish president, he was asked why he decided to use deadly force against the traffickers. 

‘There was a massive amount of drugs on the boat; we have recordings of their discussions. These were massive drug quantities brought into our country to harm numerous individuals,’ Trump commented, adding that ‘there are drug-filled bags all over the boat.’

‘And they were obviously hit; they won’t be doing it again, and I believe many others won’t either once they witness that footage,’ the president remarked.

Trump posted video footage of the strike on Truth Social shortly after announcing it had been a success.  

‘We knew precisely who was on that boat, precisely what their actions were, and exactly who they represented,’ mentioned Hegseth on Fox & Friends, emphasizing that the traffickers were ‘attempting to poison our nation with illicit drugs.’

‘It’s a new day, it’s a different day,’ Hegseth also said.   

Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro has been fuming over the U.S.’s increased military presence in the region. 

Maduro, whom the U.S. does not recognize as the legitimate president of the country after an election last year, threatened to ‘declare a republic in arms’ if attacked by American forces. 

‘In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defense of Venezuela,’ Maduro also said. 

The Pentagon has deployed at least seven warships to the southern Caribbean.

Maduro characterized the escalation as ‘an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.’ 

Last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $50million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, saying he uses ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ to ‘bring deadly drugs and violence into our country.’ 

In the announcement, she said the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates and 7 tons of cocaine linked to the Venezuelan dictator personally. 

She noted that cocaine is often laced with fentanyl, which has led to droves of American deaths.  

‘Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,’ Bondi said. 

Caracas has long denied Maduro’s ties to the drug cartels.

Trump campaigned on eradicating the drug trade.

Since taking office, the president has also surged resources to the southern border and threatened China with tariffs over fentanyl trafficking. 

Last year, Maduro claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election over opponent Edmundo González in an election that international monitors said was neither free nor fair. 

During his news conference on Monday, Maduro also continued to claim that he was the legitimate winner of the 2024 election.