US military conducts first strike on alleged narco-terror boat since capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
The US military announced on Friday that it had carried out its first deadly attack on alleged narcoterrorists. Since the raid in which the Venezuelan leader was captured Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.
US Southern Command said on social media that the boat was ‘involved in drug smuggling operations’ and that two people died in the attack, while one person survived.
It was stated that the Coast Guard was informed to initiate search and rescue efforts for the person in question.
The video accompanying the post announcing the latest attack shows a boat moving through the water before bursting into flames.
Previous US strikes have come under fire from Democrats for “double strike” attacks targeting survivors.
The US military has recently focused on seizing sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela since the Trump administration launched a daring raid to capture Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
According to the US military and Trump’s statements, with the latest military operation, there have been 36 known attacks against boats allegedly smuggling drugs in South American waters since the beginning of September, and at least 117 people died in these attacks.
The majority of strikes occurred in the Caribbean Sea.
This image, taken from video provided by U.S. Southern Command, shows a ship accused of drug smuggling in the Eastern Pacific Ocean shortly before it was destroyed by the U.S. military on Jan. 23, 2026, killing two people and injuring one. (U.S. Southern Command, via AP)
According to the announcements of the US military led by Pete Hegseth and Trump, with the latest military operation, there have been 36 attacks against boats allegedly smuggling drugs in South American waters since the beginning of September, causing the death of at least 117 people.
The last reported boat attacks occurred in late December; The military said five boats allegedly involved in drug smuggling were hit in two days, killing a total of eight people and others jumping into the sea.
Days later, the Coast Guard suspended the search.
The United States conducted a large-scale operation in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on January 3, which resulted in Maduro and his wife being captured and later sent to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Before his capture, Maduro said the US military operations were a thinly veiled effort to remove him from power.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said U.S. strikes targeting alleged traffickers have had a tremendous impact in slowing drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
“We’ve stopped; we’ve stopped almost 100 percent of all drugs coming in by water,” Trump said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
After Maduro’s capture, Trump forced the remaining members of the regime to make deals on oil.
Days after Maduro’s capture, Trump announced a deal with the Venezuelan regime to give the United States 30 to 50 million barrels of oil, worth up to $2 billion.
“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will transfer between 30 and 50 MILLION BARRIES of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil to the United States,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also announced that he would have control of the money raised from oil sales, which could be worth up to $2 billion at market price, according to Reuters.
The US military has recently focused on seizing sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela since the Trump administration launched a daring raid to capture Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
‘This Oil will be sold at the Market Price and this money will be controlled by me as President of the United States to ensure that it is used for the benefit of Venezuela and the people of the United States!’
Trump put Energy Secretary Chris Wright in charge of implementing the plan, which is scheduled to begin immediately.
‘It will be picked up by storage ships and brought directly to discharge ports in the United States,’ he wrote.
Trump largely blamed his team for relations with Venezuela while sidelining Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Trump had largely dismissed Machado’s hopes, saying it would be ‘very difficult for him to become a leader’ and claiming he ‘has neither support nor respect at home’.
Machado’s comments caught Machado’s team off guard, according to those close to him.
Machado’s running mate, Edmundo González, won more than two-thirds of the vote in last year’s election, which Maduro refused to honor by resigning.
U.S. officials say Venezuela’s vast oil wealth offers Rodriguez both an incentive to engage with Trump and a source of leverage if he doesn’t.
The United States has since turned its attention to carrying out Trump’s plan to buy Greenland, while ignoring the oppressive regime in Iran that is executing protesters.
