The United States has struck another small boat, allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela. Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, made the announcement on social media on Friday, adding that four people onboard the boat have been killed in the strike. “Earlier this morning, on President Trump's orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the United States Southern Command area of responsibility,” Hegseth wrote on social media. 'Boat carrying drugs to US' According to Hegseth, the strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics to America. He added that the US intelligence confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route. Hegseth also warned that such strikes will continue. “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over,” he said. Earlier this morning, on President Trump's orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the… pic.twitter.com/QpNPljFcGn— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 3, 2025 US declared drug cartels as unlawful combatants The strike comes less than a day after it was revealed that President Trump declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and declared that the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them. Fourth strike on boats since September Last month, the US military carried out three other deadly strikes against boats in the Caribbean that the administration accused of ferrying drugs. The first such strike was carried out on September 1 in the southern Caribbean on a boat from Venezuela, killing all 11 people on the vessel. While the Trump administration has claimed that the boats targeted in all the strikes were carrying drugs, it has not provided any evidence to support the claim. (Photo: Reuters) With this strike, at least three of these operations have now been carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela. While the Trump administration has claimed that the boats targeted in all the strikes were carrying drugs, it has not provided any evidence to support the claim. As the Trump administration steps up its war on drugs, NBC News on Thursday reported that US military officials are drawing up options to target traffickers inside Venezuela, and strikes within that country’s borders could potentially begin in a matter of weeks.
