6 people are dead after US President Donald Trump’s lethal strike on what he called a “narcoterrorist” vessel just off the coast of Venezuela.
According to Trump’s Truth Social post, the strike in international waters was ordered after “intelligence confirmed” the vessel’s guilt. The vessel was said to be trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known Designated Terrorist Organisation (DTO) route.
The Tuesday morning strike is the 5th of its kind by the Trump administration since September 2025. In total, 27 people have been reported killed.
Normally, there isn’t much hue-and-cry about ‘terrorists’ being slain. But there is a problem.
Trump is facing increasing pressure on Capitol Hill from not only the Democrats but also his fellow Republicans. Because so far, the Trump administration has yet to provide any evidence of their terrorist activities. Furthermore, no details about identities of the vessels or those on board have ever been released.
Importantly, the strike came after a recent leaked memo to Congress which said the US was in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels. Trump is basically labelling the strikes on the alleged drug-trafficking vessels as self-defence.
Democrats insist this can’t be legal and that Trump is contravening US and international law. They even tried forcing a vote in the Senate on the issue under the War Powers Act. The resolution was intended to prevent the Trump administration from conducting such strikes without explicit Congressional approval. However, given that both US houses are Republican controlled, the ones in the Senate duly blocked the resolution in a 48-51 vote.
But dig deeper and there are rumblings that Trump’s moves are actually hiding something a lot more serious.
The strikes follow the unprecedented buildup of US naval forces in the Caribbean. Many believe this is part of a wider political campaign. One that involves putting military pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and forcing a regime change in the South American nation.
Remember, the US State Department even announced a $50 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of Maduro on drug-trafficking charges.
