Overview

• Trump said U.S. forces carried out a kinetic strike in international waters on a vessel he identified as tied to Tren de Aragua, claiming 11 were killed.
• The president posted strike footage on Truth Social and the Pentagon shared a video on X, which Venezuela’s communications minister said appeared AI-generated based on an exchange with Google’s Gemini.
• Independent outlets have not verified the strike details, the identities of those targeted, or the casualty count, and officials have not provided corroboration beyond the videos.
• Legal experts cited in coverage question the action’s legality under international law, noting drug smuggling is not a capital offense.
• The strike follows a U.S. deployment of eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and thousands of Marines in the southern Caribbean, alongside a U.S.-led push for regional partners—Ecuador, Paraguay, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic—to label the Cartel of the Suns a terrorist group.