Trump sends big message to drug dealers, says US strikes vessel in Caribbean targeting Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang; video shows vessel exploding in flames

The United States has conducted a strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (September 2, 2025). He said that the vessel was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. In a post on Truth Social, the US president said that 11 people were killed in the military operation. He also shared a video of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.

“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States,” Trump said in the post. “No U.S. forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America.”

The video, which was also shared by the White House on X, appears to show a long, multi-engine speedboat traveling at sea when a bright flash of light bursts over the craft. The boat is then briefly seen covered in flames. The video, which is largely in black and white, is not clear enough to see if the craft is carrying as many as 11 people. The video also did not show any large or clear stashes of drugs inside the boat.

Tren de Aragua gang

Tren de Aragua originated more than a decade ago at an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals in Venezuela’s central state of Aragua. According to news agency AP, the gang has expanded in recent years as more than 7.7 million Venezuelans fled economic turmoil and migrated to other Latin American countries or the U.S.

Trump and the officials of the US administration have constantly blamed the gang for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some cities. The White House did not immediately explain how the military determined that those aboard the vessel were Tren de Aragua members. There is no clarity on the size of the gang, nor on the extent to which its actions are coordinated across state lines and national borders.

After Trump announced the strike, Venezuelan state television showed President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores walking the streets of his childhood neighborhood, according to AP. The strikes were first announced by Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier on Tuesday. This came shortly before Rubio left on a trip to Mexico and Ecuador for talks on drug cartels, security, tariffs, and more.

In a brief exchange with reporters before departing Miami for Mexico City, Rubio deferred questions about the specifics of the strike to the Pentagon. He said the drugs on the vessel were likely headed to Trinidad or elsewhere in the Caribbean.

US boots maritime force in the waters off Venezuela

The strikes on the vessel come days after Washington announced plans to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels. The US, however, has not signaled any planned land incursion by the thousands of personnel being deployed. Still, Maduro's government has responded by deploying troops along Venezuela's coast and border with neighboring Colombia, as well as by urging Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia.

Maduro has insisted that Washington is building a false drug-trafficking narrative to try to force him out of office. He and other government officials have repeatedly cited a United Nations report that they say shows traffickers attempt to move only 5% of the cocaine produced in Colombia through Venezuela.