<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="_blank" title="U.S."><span>US</span></a><span> President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="_blank" title="Donald Trump "><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span>said the military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel, and hinted that the military targeting of cartels could be further expanded.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital US Interests.”</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-air-force-has-begun-modifying-donated-qatar-jet-that-could-be-new-air-force-one/c70c225e-21dc-44e7-9f08-f6bcb4046040" target="_blank"><strong><span>US Air Force has begun modifying donated Qatar jet that could be new Air Force One</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The strike was carried out nearly two weeks after </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/united-states-usa-military-donald-trump-venezuela-cartel-strike/bd60a6c6-4c23-4478-8fc4-972873aa54b4" rel="" target="_blank" title="another military strike"><span>another military strike</span></a><span> on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had been shown footage of the latest strike by General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Asked what proof the US has that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump replied, “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean — big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.”</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-usa-united-states-venezuela-strike-drug-boat/96063d6a-987e-4185-b100-21b2f3f86230" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump also hinted that US military strikes targeting alleged drug smugglers at sea could be expanded to land.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said the US military is seeing fewer vessels in the Caribbean since carrying out the first strike early this month. But he said the cartels are still smuggling drugs by land.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We’re telling the cartels right now we’re going to be stopping them, too,” Trump said. “When they come by land we’re going to be stopping them the same way we stopped the boats. ... But maybe by talking about it a little bit, it won’t happen. If it doesn’t happen that’s good.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/dna-evidence-found-near-scene-of-charlie-kirks-shooting-matches-suspect-fbi-director-says/3bb80d7c-19d9-4ee5-8d81-2cd83204cec7" target="_blank"><strong><span>DNA evidence found near scene of Charlie Kirk's shooting matches suspect, FBI director says</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth later took to X to warn cartels the U.S. would “track them, kill them, and dismantle their networks throughout our hemisphere — at the times and places of our choosing,” echoing muscular language used by past administrations during the Global War on Terror. The White House also posted a short unclassified video clip on social media of the strike.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration has justified the military action as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, have indicated their dissatisfaction with the administration’s rationale and questioned the legality of the action. They view it as a potential overreach of executive authority in part because the military was used for law enforcement purposes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration has claimed self-defence as a legal justification for the first strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing the drug cartels “pose an immediate threat” to the nation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>U.S. officials said the strike early this month targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organisation. And they indicated more military strikes on drug targets would be coming as the U.S. looks to “wage war” on cartels.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-says-a-deal-has-been-reached-on-tiktok-but-details-are-sparse/579bb250-e5fb-45bb-995c-82d9640f1ffa" target="_blank"><strong><span>The US says a deal has been reached on TikTok, but details are sparse</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump did not specify whether Tren de Aragua was also the target of the recent strike.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strike.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration has railed specifically against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the scourge of illegal drugs in U.S. communities.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maduro during a press conference earlier lashed out at the US government, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation whose intentions are “to intimidate and seek regime change” in the South American country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maduro also repudiated what he described as a weekend operation in which 18 Marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?” he said. “They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/charlie-kirk-shooter-tyler-robinson-what-we-know-political-views-explained/9a17a048-d30a-4bd2-8882-a24bc7d7ca27" target="_blank"><strong><span>What do we know about Tyler Robinson, the man who allegedly killed Charlie Kirk?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Speaking to Fox News, Rubio reiterated that the U.S. doesn’t see Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela but as head of a drug cartel. Rubio has consistently depicted Venezuela as a vestige of communist ideology in the Western Hemisphere.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We’re not going to have a cartel, operating or masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Following the first military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, America's chief diplomat said Trump was "going to use the U.S. military and all the elements of American power to target cartels who are targeting America.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>AP and others have reported that the boat had turned around and was heading back to shore when it was struck. But Rubio said he didn’t know if that’s accurate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up,” Rubio said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We can’t live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can’t touch them anymore.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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