US Intensifies Anti-Narcotics Operations in Caribbean Under Trump's Orders

US President Donald Trump has declared that American forces executed a third military strike targeting a ship allegedly involved in narcotic trafficking, resulting in the deaths of at least three men aboard, according to Al Jazeera. This announcement, made late on Friday, surfaced as Venezuela accused the US of waging an 'undeclared war' in the Caribbean and urged the United Nations to investigate the strikes.

Trump, via his Truth Social platform, claimed the 'lethal kinetic strike' was orchestrated under his command in the US Southern Command's jurisdiction, encompassing 31 nations across South and Central America and the Caribbean, reported Al Jazeera. 'Intelligence affirmed the vessel's connection to narcotic trafficking, traveling through notorious trafficking routes targeting American citizens,' Trump stated.

The strike in international waters claimed the lives of three alleged narcoterrorists on the vessel, with no US forces injured, Trump asserted. He uploaded aerial footage showing infrastructure destruction, as a projectile impacts the moving ship, igniting it in flames. However, Trump did not provide corroborating evidence for his claims, nor specified the vessel's origins or the attack's exact location, Al Jazeera noted. This action follows the deployment of US warships into international waters near Venezuela, augmented by F-35 fighters stationed in Puerto Rico, as part of an anti-drug operation.

Previously, the US executed two strikes on purported drug-smuggling vessels allegedly coming from Venezuela. On September 2, Trump disclosed that the US military hit a small vessel accused of drug trafficking for Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang, killing 11 people, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)