"Days after sending U.S. gunboats to South American waters, President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. Navy struck a vessel in the southern Caribbean carrying what he described as a Venezuelan drug shipment. Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event that the operation happened "over the last few minutes, (we) literally shot out a a boat, a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.""
"Moments later Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted confirmation, calling it a "lethal strike" on a vessel operated by a "designated narco-terrorist organization." In a later Truth Social post about the operation, Trump said 11 people were killed, calling them "terrorists," claiming they were members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. He included a video in the post labeled "unclassified" showing a strike on a small speedboat with four outboard motors."
"Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel and has put a $50 million bounty on his head. Then just over a week ago, the U.S. deployed warshipsincluding the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Groupto waters off Venezuela's coast in a significant show of force. Maduro claims the U.S. military buildup is a sign that Washington is trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government."
U.S. naval forces struck a vessel in the southern Caribbean described as carrying a Venezuelan drug shipment, with President Trump saying the boat was disabled and contained a large quantity of drugs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the action a "lethal strike" against a vessel tied to a designated narco-terrorist organization. Trump later said 11 people were killed, called them terrorists, and identified them as Tren de Aragua gang members, posting an unclassified video of the strike. Washington accuses Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and has placed a $50 million bounty on him. Venezuela has declared maximum preparedness and mobilized militias and media coverage in response to the U.S. military presence.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]