US carries out first strike on alleged drug boat since capture of Venezuela’s Maduro
The strike comes amid increased US military activity in the region following a raid earlier this month in which Maduro and his wife were captured in Caracas.
A vessel that the military says was ‘engaged in narco-trafficking operations’. (Screengrab: /@RT_com)
The United States has carried out its first known military strike on a vessel accused of drug trafficking since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, the US military said on Friday, according to the Associated Press (AP).
US Southern Command said the strike took place in the eastern Pacific Ocean and targeted a boat that was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations”. Two people were killed and one person survived, it said.
The military said it informed the US Coast Guard, which launched a search and rescue operation for the survivor.
The strike comes amid increased US military activity in the region following a raid earlier this month in which Maduro and his wife were captured in Caracas and flown to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
In recent months, the US military has also focused on seizing oil tankers linked to Venezuela as part of broader operations ordered by US President Donald Trump.
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According to figures released by the US military and Trump, there have been 36 known strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in South American waters since early September. At least 117 people have been killed. Most of the strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea.
The most recent strikes before Friday occurred in late December, when the military said it hit five suspected drug boats over two days, killing eight people. Others reportedly jumped into the sea, and the Coast Guard later suspended its search efforts.
Maduro had previously said US military actions were an attempt to remove him from power.
Trump has repeatedly said the strikes are disrupting drug trafficking routes.
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“We’ve stopped virtually stopped almost 100% of all drugs coming in by water,” Trump said on Thursday while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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A vessel that the military says was ‘engaged in narco-trafficking operations’. (Screengrab: /@RT_com) 
