‘Let this serve as notice’: Trump says US forces killed 11 Venezuelan ‘narcoterrorists’; strikes Maduro-linked gang

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that US forces killed 11 “narcoterrorists” while carrying out a strike on a drug-carrying vessel linked to Venezuelan gangs. Trump alleged the gang was controlled by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

"Earlier this morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, while sharing footage of the attack.


"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. No US Forces were harmed in this strike,” he said.

The strike is part of broader US counter-narcotics efforts to strengthen maritime operations off Venezuela and combat threats from Latin American drug cartels. While thousands of US personnel are being deployed, officials have not indicated any plans for a land incursion into Venezuela.

“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America,” Trump added.

Earlier on Wednesday while speaking at the Oval Office, Trump described the operation as part of ongoing counter-narcotics efforts in the southern Caribbean.

“The US forces shot out a boat… a drug-carrying boat, lots of drugs in that boat,” he said. “So we took it out.”

Secretary of state Marco Rubio also addressed the operation on X, calling it a lethal strike and noting that the vessel was operated by a “designated narco-terrorist organisation.” Rubio made the comments shortly before departing for Mexico and Ecuador to discuss drug cartels, regional security, and trade issues.

Venezuelan government responds

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro responded by deploying troops along the coast and the border with Colombia and urged citizens to join a civilian militia. Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the US is exaggerating Venezuela’s role in drug trafficking to remove him from power.

He and other government officials have cited a United Nations report indicating that traffickers move only a small fraction of Colombia’s cocaine through Venezuela.

On Monday, Maduro told reporters he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if Venezuela were attacked by US forces deployed in the Caribbean.

The Venezuelan government’s press office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s announcement, and the Pentagon also declined to provide a statement.

The latest UN World Drug Report shows that South American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, reported increased cocaine seizures in 2022 compared with 2021, but Venezuela is not highlighted as a central hub of trafficking.