The deadly U.S. attack on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean is a “very clear” message from President Donald Trump to the cartels, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, U.S. forces carried out a strike on a speedboat, and Trump claimed that 11 “narco-terrorists” were killed in the operation. According to him, the group was controlled by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“You want to try trafficking drugs? This is a new day. It’s a different day. And that’s why those 11 drug traffickers are no longer with us, which sends a very clear signal that this is an activity the United States will not tolerate in our hemisphere,” Hegseth said on Fox News.
The Pentagon chief said he witnessed the attack live but refused to share details about how it was carried out.
“We knew exactly who was on that boat. We knew exactly what they were doing and who they represented: the Tren de Aragua,” Hegseth said, referring to a gang Washington designated as a terrorist organization earlier this year.
The U.S. Navy has deployed eight ships—seven in the Caribbean Sea and one in the Pacific Ocean—as part of what it claims is an anti-drug operation. Maduro has condemned their presence as a threat to Venezuela.
When asked whether regime change in Venezuela was the U.S. goal, Hegseth said: “That’s a presidential decision, and we are prepared with all the resources available to the U.S. military.”
