The US president has defended the attack on a “drug boat from Venezuela”, while the country’s defense minister has vowed more such attacks.
According to Reuters, on September 3, US President Donald Trump defended the US attack on the ship he accused of being a “drug ship from Venezuela”.
The attack was carried out on September 2 and announced by Mr. Trump on the same day. The US President said that 11 people were killed on this ship. This is the first massive operation since Washington deployed warships to the southern Caribbean recently.
However, the attack is still plagued by many questions about its legality and motives.
Trump reiterated to reporters in the Oval Office that the ship was carrying “a huge amount of drugs.” However, he did not provide further details to support his assertion.
He only said: “Venezuela has been a very bad actor.”
“We have recordings (of people on the ship) talking. There was a huge amount of drugs on the way to our country to kill a lot of people. And everyone knows that. You can actually see bags of drugs all over the ship.
They’re obviously not going to do that anymore. I think a lot of people are not going to do that anymore. When they see that kind of footage (of the ship being attacked), they’re going to say, ‘Don’t do it,'” Trump said.
Not long before, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced that US military operations against drug cartels would continue, setting the stage for a prolonged military campaign in the Latin American region.
“We have assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on our ships. Because this is a very serious mission for us and it will not stop with this attack. Anyone else who is smuggling in those waters that we know is a narco-terrorist will face the same fate,” Hegseth told Fox News.
Hegseth did not provide further details about the attack, including what legal basis was used or what drugs were on board.
He also declined to provide details about how the attack was carried out, stressing that it was classified. It is not yet clear whether the ship was destroyed by drones, torpedoes or other means.