This story has been up to date to incorporate extra data and video of the strike.
THE PENTAGON – U.S. forces carried out a “precision strike” on a suspected transnational drug boat that killed the 11 folks aboard, the Protection Division and President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday.
First introduced by Trump throughout a press occasion on the White Home, a senior protection official confirmed the strike in an announcement. Trump then printed video of the strike on Reality Social, saying the strike focused the Tren de Aragua transnational legal group.
“The strike occurred whereas the terrorists have been at sea in worldwide waters transporting unlawful narcotics, heading to the USA,” Trump wrote on Reality Social. “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in motion. No U.S. Forces have been harmed on this strike. Please let this function discover to anyone even occupied with bringing medication into the USA of America. BEWARE!”
The State Division declared the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua a overseas terrorist group in February.
“Because the president introduced at the moment, we are able to affirm the U.S. army carried out a precision strike in opposition to a drug vessel operated by a delegated narco-terrorist group. Extra data will likely be made accessible at a later time,” reads the senior protection official’s assertion.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the strike on social media web site X, posting, “[T]oday the U.S. army carried out a deadly strike within the southern Caribbean in opposition to a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a delegated narco-terrorist group.”
Spokespeople from the Navy, Coast Guard and U.S. Southern Command have been unable to supply extra particulars on the strike when contacted by USNI Information.
A strike in opposition to a suspected drug vessel is a departure from how the U.S. has dealt with transnational crime in Southern Command. Usually, army forces assist regulation enforcement businesses just like the Coast Guard, which interdict drug vessels and arrest suspects for prosecution by way of a number of bilateral authorized agreements with South and Central American nations.
The strike comes because the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have massed forces within the Caribbean in opposition to the backdrop of the Trump administration’s escalating rhetoric concerning the Nicolás Maduro regime in Caracas and its alleged assist for transnational crime organizations.
As of Tuesday, 5,000 sailors and Marines are working within the Caribbean as a part of a White Home mission to U.S. Southern Command, USNI Information understands.
The Iwo Jima Amphibious Prepared Group and the embarked twenty second Marine Expeditionary Unit are working close to Puerto Rico within the northern Caribbean Sea, two protection officers confirmed to USNI Information.
The mission of the ARG/MEU – which is led by flagship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) – is at present undefined, however comes because the Trump administration ramps up a warship presence in Southern Command amid its ongoing mission on the southern border and counter-drug efforts. USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and USS San Antonio (LPD-17) are the opposite two ships that make up the ARG.
Over the weekend the twenty second MEU began coaching in Puerto Rico with the territory’s Nationwide Guard, in accordance with a Marine Corps information launch.
“These operations provide a beneficial alternative to coach alongside the Nationwide Guard, leveraging present army coaching amenities on the island,” the discharge reads. “The twenty second MEU is actively looking for methods to broaden collaborative coaching alternatives, together with jungle coaching, mixed workout routines and neighborhood engagement occasions. These mixed efforts are aimed toward enhancing regional safety, catastrophe response capabilities, and joint capability constructing.”
Two guided-missile destroyers – USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) and USS Gravely (DDG-107) – and one cruiser are additionally working within the Caribbean, in accordance with the USNI Information Fleet and Marine Tracker. USS Lake Erie (CG-70) sailed north by the Panama Canal on Friday. As of Sunday, USS Sampson (DDG-102) was working on the southern tip of the canal within the Jap Pacific. A few of the floor combatants have Coast Guard regulation enforcement detachments onboard, USNI Information understands.
Final week, Rubio met with SOUTHCOM commander Adm. Alvin Holsey in Florida to speak concerning the space of duty.
The Iwo Jima ARG left Norfolk, Va., final month, marking the primary time a U.S.-based ARG with embarked Marines has deployed since December partly attributable to ongoing readiness challenges throughout the amphibious fleet.
The Navy elevated its warship presence in U.S. Southern Command in 2020, sending each Littoral Fight Ships and destroyers to sail the waters to conduct counter-narcotics missions, USNI Information reported on the time.
On the time, the service supported the Coast Guard’s regulation enforcement mission as a part of the Joint Interagency Process Power South and Southern Command’s Marketing campaign Martillo operations in opposition to transnational legal organizations.
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