‘Maduro doesn’t want to f**** around with United States’: Donald Trump says

Trump confirms strike on another drug vessel

Speaking at the White House, Trump also confirmed that the US has struck yet another ‘drug-carrying submarine’ in the Caribbean.

“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump said while hosting the Ukrainian president at the White House.

This was the sixth time since September that the US military has struck alleged drug trafficking vessels from Venezuela in the Caribbean waters.

Unlike in the past strikes, US officials, on condition of anonymity, have admitted that two people were seized on Thursday from the vessel that was hit.

Secretary of State Rubio did not dispute that there were survivors, but he repeatedly said details would be forthcoming.

What happened on Thursday

This would make the survivors the first prisoners of war in a conflict declared by President Trump against a “narcoterrorist” threat he says is emanating from Venezuela.

According to Reuters, the vessel struck on Thursday moved below the water and was possibly a semi-submersible, which is a submarine-like vessel used by drug traffickers to avoid detection.

Citing five sources familiar with the matter, the Reuters report added that the US military staged a helicopter rescue to pick up the survivors of the attack and bring them back to a warship.

Prior to Thursday’s operation, US military strikes against suspected drug boats off Venezuela had not left any known survivors and videos presented by the Trump administration showed vessels being destroyed.

The Trump administration has said the previous strikes killed 27 people, raising alarms among some legal experts and Democratic lawmakers, who question whether they adhere to the laws of war.

US military deployment in Caribbean

The strikes come against the backdrop of a US military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops as Trump escalates a standoff with the Venezuelan government.

On Wednesday, Trump also disclosed that he had authorised the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, adding to speculation in Caracas that the United States is attempting to topple Venezuelan President Maduro.