President Donald Trump confirmed this Monday the sinking of a Venezuelan ship linked to drug trafficking, during a military operation that left three dead, the second of its kind in two weeks and that increases diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

With a message in On his social network, Truth Social, the US president confirmed that, following his orders, “the United States Military Forces executed a second Kinetic Strike against drug cartels and narcoterrorists, safely identified and extraordinarily violent, in the area of ??responsibility of the Southern Command.” And he added in capital letters: “three male terrorists” were in international waters, transporting illegal narcotics bound for the United States.”

Although he did not give more details about the date on which the attack took place, he did confirm that “no member of the armed forces was injured.”

Since his return to the White House, Trump promoted that Congress declare the cartels as terrorist groups because they are considered a “threat to national security, foreign policy and the vital interests of the United States,” for which he reiterated that his government “will hunt down those who transport drugs that kill Americans” and clarified that “they have done so for decades. But not anymore.”

The debate over Trump’s controversial operations against Venezuelan drug traffickers

In the original attack by the US Army on these types of vessels, on September 2, the little that is known about that operation in which 11 people died, has generated a debate throughout the country about its 'legality'. Senators from both parties have demanded official explanations, while human rights defenders denounce that “this Administration is normalizing extrajudicial executions.”

On that occasion, Trump also assured that he had positively identified the occupants of the vessel as members of the Tren de Aragua cartel and that they were bound for the United States.The following day, he added that communications confirming this had been intercepted, although they have not been made public.

He also noted that these attacks are an act of legitimate defense against drug traffickers from a group included on the list of foreign terrorist organizations since last February, and therefore has the authority to order military attacks of this type without requiring congressional approval.

Maduro Asserts Attacks Are to Overthrow Him

After learning of the attack, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro asserted that these types of offensives are part of an excuse to invade his country and overthrow the "Bolivarian" movement, which has governed Venezuela since 1999, while the US government remains firm in its accusation, naming him the leader of the drug trade in Venezuela.

In fact, the Maduro regime maintains that the vessel that sank violently two weeks ago was not crewed by criminals nor was it carrying a cargo of narcotics.

Hours before learning of this second attack, Maduro defined this first attack as “an atrocious crime” that violated U.S. and international laws. He demanded that if the crew members were in fact criminals, they should have been tried under U.S. law and that the operation was in fact “a military attack against civilians who were not at war nor threatening any country militarily.”

Therefore, this operation is a covert attempt to provoke “regime change in exchange for oil.”

He also spoke of another incident that occurred on Saturday, in which a Navy destroyer boarded and held a tuna boat for eight hours in waters that Caracas considers part of its Exclusive Economic Zone. “What they were looking for was a military incident. The incident they were looking for to attack us. We have not fallen for provocations, nor will we fall for them,” Maduro stated. Meanwhile, the US Navy maintains eight military ships and a submarine deployed in the Caribbean Sea, using the pretext of combating drug trafficking. “We’ll see what happens. Certainly, there aren’t many ships out there from the first, and then, to a lesser extent, from the second. We hardly see any ships, which is good,” he said this Sunday, regarding the Navy’s presence on the Venezuelan coast. The drug crisis in the United States persists, mainly due to the proliferation of fentanyl, with a record 110,000 overdose deaths.Maduro claims attacks are to overthrow him. After learning of the attack, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro claimed that these types of offensives are part of an excuse to invade his country and overthrow the Bolivarian movement that has ruled Venezuela since 1999. The US government remains firm in its accusations against him, pointing to him as the leader of the drug trade in Venezuela. In fact, the Maduro regime claims that the vessel that was violently sunk two weeks ago was not crewed by criminals nor was it carrying a cargo of narcotics. Hours before learning of this second attack, Maduro described the first attack as “an atrocious crime” that violated US and international laws. He demanded that if the crew members were indeed criminals, they should be tried under US law. that the operation was actually “a military attack against civilians who were not at war nor threatening any country militarily.”

Therefore, this operation is a covert attempt to provoke “regime change in exchange for oil.”

He also spoke about another incident that occurred on Saturday, in which a Navy destroyer boarded and detained a tuna boat for eight hours in waters that Caracas considers part of its Exclusive Economic Zone. “What they were looking for was a military incident. The incident they were looking for to attack us. We have not fallen for provocations, nor will we fall for them,” Maduro stated.

Meanwhile, the US Navy maintains eight military ships and a submarine deployed in the Caribbean Sea, using the pretext of combating drug trafficking. "We'll see what happens. Certainly, there aren't many ships out there from the first one, and then, to a lesser extent, from the second one. We hardly see any ships, which is good," he said Sunday, referring to the Navy's presence on the Venezuelan coast. The drug crisis in the United States persists, mainly due to the proliferation of fentanyl, with a record 110,000 overdose deaths.