"President Donald Trump disclosed Tuesday that the U.S. government had "knocked off" what he said was a total of three alleged drug smuggling boats, all apparently from Venezuela, a country whose leader his administration has villainized while dramatically escalating the use of deadly force in a bid to disrupt the Latin American narcotics trade. The president, speaking to reporters outside the White House, offered no other details about the previously undisclosed incident."
"It appears the president was referring to two recent social media posts of his. On Monday, he announced that U.S. forces had killed three alleged drug smugglers earlier in the day. He made a similar announcement Sept. 2, saying the U.S. military had killed 11 people in a boat also accused of transporting illegal narcotics to the United States. In both posts, which appeared on Trump's Truth Social platform, the president included overhead video of the boats erupting in flames."
"The Trump administration has not identified what military assets were used in these operations and, to date, it has not publicized any evidence verifying who was on the boats - and what they were hauling - when U.S. forces blew them up. In remarks following Monday's announcement, Trump suggested his administration was preparing to take military action against Latin American cartels that move illicit drugs over land as well."
The U.S. government disclosed that it 'knocked off' three alleged drug-smuggling boats, all apparently from Venezuela, amid heightened military activity aimed at disrupting Latin American narcotics trafficking. Two incidents were publicized via social media posts showing overhead video of boats erupting in flames, with earlier claims that U.S. forces had killed suspected smugglers. Officials have not identified the military assets used or publicized evidence verifying who was aboard or what cargo was aboard when the vessels were destroyed. The White House and Pentagon declined to answer detailed questions about the operations. The administration signaled possible expansion to land-based actions against drug cartels.
Read at The Washington Post
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