US President Donald Trump has confirmed that American forces struck another vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday evening, claiming it was illegally carrying drugs. The announcement came during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, where he addressed thousands of sailors at a ceremony marking the US Navy's 250th anniversary.
Trump stated that the Navy had supported the mission to target cartel terrorists, adding that drug smugglers would now be forced to consider land routes. 'There are no boats in the water any more. You can’t find them,' he said. The administration has conducted four strikes in the Caribbean on what it describes as fast boats involved in drug trafficking.
The United Nations has condemned the US strikes, labelling them as extrajudicial executions. 'International law does not allow governments to simply murder alleged drug traffickers,' the UN said last month, urging that criminal activities be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the rule of law.
The Navy celebrations occurred amid a federal government shutdown, leaving some military personnel without pay. Trump accused Democrats of attempting to disrupt the event but insisted that 'the show must go on'. The president also pledged to rebuild the Navy's shipbuilding capacity, noting that the US fleet is at its smallest size since before the Second World War.
Navy Secretary John Phelan has ordered an accelerated production schedule for submarine programs, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared an end to 'woke' culture in the military, focusing on warfighting as the core mission.
