THIS is the moment US forces unleash another deadly strike on a smuggling boat full of “narcoterrorists” off the coast of Venezuela.
Donald Trump shared footage of the direct missile hit showing the vessel being sent up in flames in a huge blast on the water.
The moment a US bomb crashed into a smuggling boat full of ‘narcoterrorosts’ off the coast of Venezuela[/caption]
A huge flash of light erupted when the vessel was hit[/caption]
All six men on board died in the major eruption, Trump confirmed.
The US president is continuing to crackdown on drug cartels in the region with the latest Navy strike marking the fifth boat hit since September.
He praised his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for conducting the strike alongside the unclassified footage on Truth Social.
The video showed the narco boat sat stationary in international waters near to Venezuela.
Moments later, a quick stream of light appears on screen directly crashing into the vessel.
Trump confirmed it was a kinetic strike similar to the previous weapons used in past attacks.
As the bomb hit the boat a huge flash of light erupted in the footage.
A fireball blast followed as shrapnel and plumes of black smoke flew through the air.
The pulsing flames raged on for some time as the boat was left burnt to a crisp.
Trump described the successful attack on his Truth Social platform.
He said: “Under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief, this morning, the Secretary of War, ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route.
“The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike.
“No U.S. Forces were harmed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!”
It comes as President Trump waged war as he said the US is in a “non-international armed conflict” with Latin American “terrorist organisations”.
The rare legal step gives the president sweeping wartime powers to strike, kill and detain cartel fighters without trial.
According to reports, the US military is preparing to seize ports and airfields in Venezuela.
US planners now have enough firepower positioned to seize key ports and airfields if ordered, reported the Washington Examiner.
Inside Trump’s war on drugs
By Harvey Geh, Foreign News Reporter
DONALD Trump has launched his full-scale war on drugs – favouring missiles over law enforcement.
The first day of Trump’s second term kicked off with the designation of narcotraffickers as terrorists – giving him the right to kill them before they can reach American shores.
This is the argument he has used in the face of law experts warning that his decision to strike a suspected drug-smuggling boat on Tuesday was illegal.
Washington-watchers claim that the gangsters should have been arrested – but the White House says that law enforcement is ineffective.
Trump vowed after the blitz: “There’s more where that came from.”
The US President has long spoken of his desire to enact force to take on drug cartels, which he accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of actively backing.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and the last few months have seen teetering escalations deteriorate into a tense standoff.
The US has positioned naval destroyers and soldiers around Maduro’s waters, while the Venezuelan dictator has ordered mass mobilisation of troops.
Off Venezuela’s coast sits a formidable armada: Navy warships and a submarine, ten F-35 Lightning II stealth jets, and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit — 2,200 Marines with Harrier jump jets, helicopters and armor.
And it comes as the Pentagon quietly builds a force big enough to grab and hold territory on Venezuelan soil.
Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro stared down Trump‘s declaration of war against the cartels.
He fumed the US wants to oust him and install a “puppet government” – but vowed he is ready for “armed combat”.
Trump has accused tyrannical Maduro of being in bed with the “terrorist” narco-cartels.
Furious Maduro complained that America is perpetrating “an armed aggression to impose regime change” and to “puppet governments”.
The pulsing flames raged on for some time as the boat was left burnt to a crisp[/caption]
Venezuelan troops are said to be readying for war with Trump over his narco war[/caption]
