A third small boat was attacked off Venezuela "on my orders," President Donald Trump announced on September 19, 2025.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans. The strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel," President Trump said via a post on TruthSocial:
This series of attacks began on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, when President Trump announced via social media that "on my orders," US Military Forces attacked "positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists ... in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action," Trump wrote.
Some doubts were expressed that the first boat attacked was smuggling drugs, based on the large number of people aboard. A redditor who identified as a US Navy veteran explained the skepticism on a military subreddit:
"It doesn't take 11 people to transport drugs, what if they were trafficking people? What if we just murdered some poor people who got kidnapped by a gang, when we could have rescued them? The point is, we don't know because they blew the boat up, along with any information about it and what it was actually doing." -Navy Veteran
By contrast, the small boats attacked by the US military since then have had far fewer people aboard. The second boat targeted on September 15, 2025, carried a crew of three.
Democrats in Congress have been sounding the alarm over the attacks. Chief among them is Senator Adam Schiff, who has filed a War Powers Act resolution calling for the United States to stop engaging in hostilities not specifically authorized by Congress:
“Blowing up boats in the Caribbean without any legal authority risks dragging the United States into another war, and provoking attacks against American citizens.” - US Senator Adam Schiff
President Trump remains unapologetic.
During remarks at the White House after the first attack, President Trump said it would not be a "one-off" attack, telling reporters, "There’s more where that came from."
Once more, he's made good on that promise.
What are your thoughts about the US Navy continuing to attack suspected drug-smuggling boats?
Share your thoughts in the comments to this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
