US strikes ship sailing from Venezuela killing 11

U.S. armed forces struck a ship coming from Venezuela on Tuesday, which Washington alleges was carrying narcotics, Al Jazeera reports. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/3/trump-says-11-killed-in-strike-on-alleged-drug-carrying-boat-from-venezuela

The attack killed 11 people and marks the first known operation of its kind during the Trump administration in the southern Caribbean.

“When you come out and when you leave the room, you’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat,” Trump told reporters.

The U.S. president also shared a video on his Truth Social account showing a speedboat exploding and erupting in flames at sea. According to him, no American service members were harmed in the strike—only “11 terrorists” were killed.

Trump claimed the ship’s crew belonged to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal organization, which the U.S. designated as a terrorist group in February of this year. He again accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of controlling the group, though Maduro has denied these allegations.