New U.S. strike kills 6 alleged narco-terrorists in Caribbean

U.S. forces have carried out a new strike that destroyed a vessel allegedly operated by the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, killing six people, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

The operation was authorized by President Donald Trump and marks the first nighttime strike in the administration’s widening campaign against drug cartels, Hegseth said.

Hegseth added that the vessel was traveling along a known narcotics-smuggling route in the Caribbean Sea and was “carrying narcotics” when it was targeted in international waters.

“All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed,” he said. “If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat al-Qaeda.”

Assistant Secretary of War Sean Parnell said the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group has been redeployed to the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility to expand operations against transnational criminal organizations.

According to NBC News, the U.S. has conducted 10 strikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels since early September, killing at least 43 people. Eight of those operations took place in the Caribbean Sea and two in the eastern Pacific.

Reuters reported that President Trump said his administration will brief Congress on the ongoing operations and indicated that ground missions against cartels could follow. “I don’t need a declaration of war,” he said.

The escalation comes amid heightened tensions with Venezuela, whose president, Nicolás Maduro, has been accused by Washington of protecting Tren de Aragua and other criminal networks.

Trump recently said Maduro had “offered everything” as U.S. military and intelligence activity around the country has intensified.