President Donald Trump confirmed [1] on Monday that U.S. military forces carried out a second strike against Venezuelan drug cartels, continuing his administration’s campaign targeting narcoterrorist operations in the region.
Trump announced the action in a video and a statement posted to Truth Social, where he said the strike resulted in the deaths of three male terrorists.
He described the operation as a “Kinetic Strike” ordered against cartels operating within the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.
“This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump wrote.
The president added that the cartels represent a serious threat to the country’s national security and foreign policy.
“These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests. The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this Strike. BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU! The illicit activities by these cartels have wrought DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens. NO LONGER. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!” Trump stated.
The strike followed an earlier operation on September 2 against a suspected Tren de Aragua drug vessel in the southern Caribbean.
That action killed 11 suspected narcoterrorists who were reportedly attempting to transport narcotics by sea.
At the time of the first strike, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to Ecuador, emphasized that the United States and allied nations were pursuing a stronger stance against drug cartels.
He said that “cooperative governments” would assist the U.S. in identifying traffickers and taking decisive action against them.
“Cooperative governments” would help the U.S. identify drug traffickers and “blow them up, if that’s what it takes,” Rubio said.
During a Fox News interview Monday in Jerusalem, Rubio expanded on the administration’s position, noting that traditional interdiction measures were insufficient.
“Interdiction alone is not going to stop these drug traffickers,” he said in the interview with Gillian Turner.
“They don’t mind losing 2% or 3% of their shipments. They’ve already sort of baked that into their economic plan. What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up. Some of these boats need to be not just intercepted but stopped.”
Trump also addressed reporters from the Oval Office after the second strike, where he presented details of the operation.
He said evidence collected from the scene confirmed the presence of narcotics on board the targeted vessel.
“All you have to do is look at the cargo,” Trump said.
“It was spattered all over the ocean. Big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.”
The president added that U.S. intelligence had tracked the vessel’s movements before the strike, providing confirmation of its mission.
“We know what time they were leaving, when they were leaving, what they had, and all the other things that you’d like to have,” Trump said.
Reporter: Do you intend to provide proof that these were narco terrorists?
Trump: We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was scattered all over the ocean. We have recorded evidence they were leaving.. pic.twitter.com/USHKUR1Ka5 [3]
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 15, 2025 [4]
The latest action shows the administration’s stated goal of directly targeting and eliminating cartel operations before narcotics reach U.S. borders.
With two military strikes carried out this month, officials have signaled that further operations could follow as part of an intensified strategy against cartel networks in Latin America.