On Monday, Donald Trump declared that three individuals had been killed in a second raid by U.S. forces against what he said was a drug-trafficking vessel from Venezuela.
Tensions with Caracas have increased as a result of the action, which comes after an earlier attack that claimed 11 lives and sparked debates over due process and international law.
Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that the “kinetic strike” was directed at “extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists” within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Southern Command.
He posted a video of a boat adrift in the ocean before exploding into a ball of flames. “U.S. foreign policy, national security, and vital U.S. interests are at risk from these incredibly violent drug trafficking cartels,” Trump said.