United States President Donald Trump says American forces have carried out a third strike targeting a ship that he claimed was \u201ctrafficking illicit narcotics\u201d, killing at least three men on board.<\/p>\n
The announcement, late on Friday, came as Venezuela accused the US of waging an \u201cundeclared war\u201d in the Caribbean and called for a United Nations probe into the strikes.<\/p>\n
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In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the latest \u201clethal kinetic strike\u201d took place on his orders in the US Southern Command\u2019s \u201carea of responsibility\u201d, a region that encompasses 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
\u201cIntelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage en route to poison Americans,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel, which was in international waters. No US Forces were harmed in this strike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump posted minute-long aerial footage showing side-by-side videos of a vessel \u2013 one in colour and one in black and white \u2013 that is struck by a projectile as it moves through the water.<\/p>\n
The video ends with the vessel seen ablaze in the water.<\/p>\n
Trump did not offer evidence to back his claim nor say where the vessel departed from and where specifically the strike took place.<\/p>\n
\u2018Undeclared war\u2019<\/p>\n
The attack came as the US deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela\u2019s coast, backed by F-35 fighters sent to Puerto Rico, in what it calls an anti-drug operation.<\/p>\n
It has previously\u00a0carried out two strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels that it claims originated in Venezuela.<\/p>\n
On September 2, Trump announced that the US military conducted a strike<\/a> on a small boat he accused of trafficking drugs for Tren de Aragua, a gang originating from the South American country, killing 11 people.<\/p>\n Trump described the deceased as \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d who were \u201ctransporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n On Monday, Trump announced a strike on a second alleged Venezuelan drug cartel vessel<\/a> in international waters.<\/p>\n He said three men were killed in the attack, and they had been \u201cpositively identified\u201d as working for \u201cextraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists\u201d.<\/p>\n