WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States has conducted a military strike in the southern Caribbean targeting a drug transport vessel linked to the Tren de Aragua gang and originating from Venezuela.

In a post on social media, the president stated that the operation resulted in the death of 11 individuals, marking a significant intensification of the Republican administration’s efforts to curb the narcotics flow from Latin America. Trump also shared a brief video clip showing a small boat engulfing in flames following an explosion.

“The strike took place while the vessel was in international waters, carrying illegal narcotics en route to the United States,” Trump mentioned on Truth Social. “No U.S. personnel were injured during this strike. Let this serve as a warning to anyone contemplating bringing drugs into the United States of America.”

The footage depicts a long, multi-engine speedboat at sea, followed by a sudden burst of light overtaking the craft, which is subsequently seen consumed by flames.

The mostly black-and-white video lacks sufficient clarity to ascertain whether it indeed carried up to 11 people, nor does it reveal any clear evidence of large drug caches on the boat.

The Tren de Aragua gang, notorious for its origins at a crime-ridden prison in Venezuela’s Aragua state over a decade ago, has expanded its reach in recent years amidst the mass migration of over 7.7 million Venezuelans fleeing economic distress to Latin America and the U.S.

Trump and administration officials have repeatedly blamed the gang for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some cities. And the president on Tuesday repeated his claim – contradicted by a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment – that Tren de Aragua is operating under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s control.

The White House did not immediately explain how the military determined that those aboard the vessel were Tren de Aragua members. The size of the gang is unclear, as is the extent to which its actions are coordinated across state lines and national borders.

What Maduro had to say

After Trump announced the strike, Venezuelan state television showed Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores walking the streets of his childhood neighborhood. A television presenter said Maduro was “bathing in patriotic love” as he interacted with supporters.

“In the face of imperialist threats, God (is) with us,” Maduro told supporters.

Maduro did not address the strike directly, but charged that the U.S. is “coming for Venezuela’s riches,” including oil and gas. The South American country has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

“From the neighborhoods of Caracas … I tell you, there will be peace in Venezuela, with sovereignty,” he said.

Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez questioned the veracity of the video. “Based on the video provided, it is very likely that it was created using Artificial Intelligence,” he said on his Telegram account. He couldn’t say what tools would have been used to create the video, but said it showed an “almost cartoonish animation, rather than a realistic depiction of an explosion.”

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio first announced the strike earlier Tuesday, shortly before Rubio left on a trip to Mexico and Ecuador for talks on drug cartels, security, tariffs and more.

In a brief exchange with reporters before departing Miami for Mexico City, Rubio deferred questions about the specifics of the strike to the Pentagon. He said the drugs on the vessel were likely headed to Trinidad or elsewhere in the Caribbean.

For years, Rubio has spoken out against Maduro and other Latin American leftist governments and supported opposition leaders. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Rubio told Univision there was a “strong argument” to be made for the use of the U.S. military in Venezuela. He’s also accused Venezuelan officials of aiding drug traffickers.

Asked if Trump would carry out operations on Venezuelan soil, Rubio was opaque. “We’re going to take on drug cartels wherever they are and wherever they’re operating against the interests of the United States,” he said.

US sent destroyers to waters off Venezuela

The operation came after the U.S. announced plans last month to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels.

Maduro’s government has responded by deploying troops along Venezuela’s coast and border with neighboring Colombia, as well as by urging Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia.

Maduro has insisted that the U.S. is building a false drug-trafficking narrative to try to force him out of office. He and other government officials have repeatedly cited a United Nations report that they say shows traffickers attempt to move only 5% of the cocaine produced in Colombia through Venezuela. Landlocked Bolivia and Colombia, with access to the Pacific and Caribbean, are the world’s top cocaine producers.

The latest U.N. World Drug Report shows that various countries in South America, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, reported larger cocaine seizures in 2022 than in 2021, but it does not assign Venezuela the outsize role that the White House has in recent months.

“The impact of increased cocaine trafficking has been felt in Ecuador in particular, which has seen a wave of lethal violence in recent years linked to both local and transnational crime groups, most notably from Mexico and the Balkan countries,” according to the report.

Maduro on Monday told reporters he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if his country were attacked by U.S. forces deployed to the Caribbean.

___

Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. AP journalists Matthew Lee in Mexico City, Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela, Adriana Gomez Licon in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Sagar Meghani in Washington contributed reporting.