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Caught on cam: US forces blow up ‘drug-laden’ boat at sea
Three people were killed in the strike, whom the US President described as male ‘narcoterrorists’.
United States President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) announced that a strike was conducted on a vessel which he claimed was carrying illegal drugs by US the forces, on his orders.
The strike, he said, was conducted in the US Southern Command's area of responsibility and is a fresh one in a streak of such operations by the United States.
Trump claimed that the vessel was affiliated with a “designated terrorist organization”, but did not name which one and said that intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illegal drugs and was headed to the United States via a 'known narcotrafficking passage'. It was also not revealed where the vessel was coming from.
Three people were killed in the strike, whom the US President described as male ‘narcoterrorists’.
Vessel blown up into flames, shows video
The White House shared a video of the strike, which shows a vessel moving in international waters through the reticle of a camera before it is blown up. The vessel is seen bursting into flames when it is struck, with clouds of smoke emerging from it.
Donald Trump also shared the video on his Truth Social post and wrote, “On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. 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, which was in international waters. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike.”
In his signature all-caps writing style, the US President also added a warning. “STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!”
This is not the first time the US forces have conducted such a strike in its crackdown on drug smuggling in the country. Recently, the US conducted similar strikes on boats coming from Venezuela, claiming that they were carrying drugs.
On Monday, the US forces blew up a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, in which three people were killed. Weeks before that, another military strike was conducted on a speedboat coming from Venezuela that was allegedly carrying drugs, according to the Trump administration. In that strike, 11 people were killed.
