The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Pete Hegseth, announced this Monday, 10, that American forces carried out bombings against two vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Pacific Ocean. Six people died in the attack in international waters, according to Hegseth.
“Our intelligence knew that these vessels were associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were transporting narcotics, and were transiting a known drug trafficking route,” Hegseth said in a post on social media site X, which included a video of the boats being hit.
The Secretary of Defense added that the bombings took place on Sunday, the 9th. Since September, the United States has exploded 17 boats in the region and more than 70 people have been killed. The operations are part of the Trump administration’s strategy to combat drug trafficking, which focuses on the Caribbean Sea.
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“As we have said before, attacks on narco-terrorist vessels will continue until the poisoning of the American people stops,” Hegseth said on social media. He stated that the vessel was “operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
Clarifications
United States President Donald Trump justifies the attacks by claiming that the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, but the Republican government has not provided evidence or further details. Hegseth and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a meeting with a small group of congressional leaders last Wednesday, 5th, about the growing military campaign, in one of the first contacts between members of Trump’s cabinet and the US Congress on the topic.
So far, Republicans on Capitol Hill are either silent or expressing confidence in the military campaign. Democrats said Congress needs more information about how the attacks are conducted and the legal justification for actions that critics say violate U.S. and international law by killing suspected drug traffickers in international waters.
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Last Thursday, 6, Republican senators voted to reject legislation that would have limited Trump’s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela.
Crisis on Venezuela
In recent months, the United States has assembled a large contingent of warships, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft off the coast of Venezuela, amid a military campaign by Washington against what it claims are transnational criminal organizations.
Washington accuses Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro of leading the so-called Soles Cartel, classified as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration. According to the US, Maduro is responsible for sending drugs to American territory.
Due to the accusations and the warlike nature of operations in the Caribbean, analysts question whether Washington may actually want a regime change in Caracas. In October, Trump authorized CIA operations against Venezuela and said he was considering carrying out ground attacks against drug cartels in the country. The Republican leader has not yet made a decision on intervention, but the Pentagon and intelligence agencies have offered three alternative courses of action to President Donald Trump.
The first option would involve airstrikes against Venezuelan military installations, some of which could be involved in drug trafficking, with the aim of undermining military support for Maduro. If Maduro believes he is no longer protected, he may try to flee — or, by moving around the country, make himself more vulnerable to capture, authorities say. But critics of this approach warn that it could have the opposite effect, strengthening support for the beleaguered leader.
A second approach envisages sending US Special Operations forces, such as the Army’s Delta Force or the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 (the main hostage rescue and counterterrorism unit), to try to capture or kill Maduro.
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Under this option, the Trump administration would seek to circumvent prohibitions against the assassination of foreign leaders by arguing that Maduro is, first and foremost, the head of a gang of narco-terrorists, an extension of the arguments used to justify US airstrikes against vessels that, according to the government, transport drugs.
The State Department is offering a reward of US$50 million (R$270 million) for Maduro’s arrest or conviction. The Trump administration could also argue that because Maduro suppressed the opposition and worked to rig the elections, he is not the country’s legitimate leader. Joe Biden’s administration refused to recognize him as president of Venezuela after he declared victory last year.
A third option involves a much more complex plan to send American counterterrorism forces to take control of airports and at least some of Venezuela’s oil fields and infrastructure. These last two options carry much greater risks for American military personnel on the ground – not to mention civilians –, especially if the operation takes place in an urban environment like Caracas, the country’s capital.
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