11 Killed in US Strike on Venezuela Alleged Drug-Carrying Vessel

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, September 2, that Washington carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela, which killed 11 people.

“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

In an interview with reporters at the White House, Trump confirmed the strike, stating, “We just shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat… We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time, and these came out of Venezuela and are coming out very heavily from Venezuela; a lot of things are coming out of Venezuela.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed on X that the vessel “was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organisation.” He confirmed it was a “lethal strike” carried out by US forces.

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have risen in recent months, particularly after announcing a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

The US accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel and has deployed warships to the southern Caribbean to combat trafficking, while Maduro has described the move as “an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat.”

The United Nations World Drug Report shows cocaine seizures rose across South America in 2022, particularly in Ecuador, but does not attribute an outsize role to Venezuela.

According to the BBC, experts say the US strike may have breached international law.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries are prohibited from interfering with vessels in international waters except in limited cases. “Force can be used to stop a boat, but generally this should be non-lethal measures,” said Prof. Luke Moffett of Queen’s University Belfast. He added the strike was likely “unlawful under the law of the sea”.

Prof. Michael Becker of Trinity College Dublin told the BBC, “The fact that US officials describe the individuals killed by the US strike as narco-terrorists does not transform them into lawful military targets.”