Where U.S.-Venezuela relations stand
Where U.S.-Venezuela relations stand after strike on alleged drug boat
04:21
Washington — President Trump announced Monday the U.S. military has carried out a second strike on alleged Venezuelan “narcoterrorists” in international waters.
The president said in a post on Truth Social that the strike killed three “male terrorists” whom he accused of transporting illicit drugs. The post included a video that appeared to show a strike on a boat. He did not specify where the strike took place, except to say it was in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility, which covers the Caribbean Sea and South America.
“BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!” Mr. Trump wrote.
A screenshot of an alleged Venezuelan drug boat seen in a video posted by President Trump on Truth Social on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
President Trump / Truth Social
The strike took place Monday morning, the president said.
The attack came two weeks after the military struck another alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean. The president said 11 people were killed in that strike. The boat appeared to be turning around when it was hit, CBS News has previously reported.
Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have ratcheted up in recent weeks, as the Trump administration accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government of collaborating with gangs and drug cartels — a charge Venezuela has denied. Last month, the Trump administration doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture on criminal charges to $50 million.
The U.S. deployed several naval vessels to the waters off Venezuela starting last month. Maduro’s government called the deployment an “absolutely criminal and bloody threat” and moved to deploy troops to its coast.
Venezuelan fighter jets flew in the vicinity of a U.S. naval ship twice earlier this month, in what Defense Department officials described to CBS News as a “show of force” and a “game of chicken.”
And on Saturday, Venezuela accused the U.S. of boarding and seizing a fishing boat for eight hours. The South American country called the move a “direct provocation” and accused the Trump administration of looking for a pretense to oust the Maduro regime. There is no indication that the U.S. is preparing an imminent strike on Venezuelan territory.
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