US forces carried out a military strike on a vessel off Venezuela’s coast, killing 11 suspected members of the Tren de Aragua cartel, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday.

Trump said the strike targeted narcoterrorists linked to Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro while they were transporting narcotics through international waters toward the United States.

“Earlier this morning, on my orders, US Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The president called Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, a designated foreign terrorist organisation. “TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation, operating under the control of Nicols Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere,” he wrote.

According to Trump, the operation killed 11 suspected cartel members. “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US forces were harmed in this strike,” he said.

Trump added a warning to criminal groups attempting to smuggle drugs into the US “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”

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