Daijiworld Media Network - Mexico City

Mexico City, Sep 4: In a dramatic escalation of U.S. anti-narcotics operations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that President Donald Trump personally ordered the destruction of a Venezuelan vessel suspected of drug trafficking, resulting in the deaths of 11 people.

Rubio, addressing reporters in Mexico City, described the move as part of a new, uncompromising strategy against what he called “narco-terrorist threats” in the Caribbean Sea. “Instead of interdicting it, on the President’s orders, we blew it up — and it’ll happen again,” he said, calling the strike a “precision operation.” He added that traffickers aboard were given no warning, justifying the use of lethal force by claiming, “A boat full of cocaine or fentanyl is an immediate threat to the United States.”

President Trump later echoed the justification, claiming the crew were members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal gang that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. “We have tapes of them speaking, you see the bags of drugs all over the boat,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. However, the Pentagon has so far not released any footage, evidence, or details of the strike, nor explained why force was used instead of standard interdiction procedures.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said only that the U.S. would continue targeting designated narco-terrorists and warned that others would face the “same fate.” The announcement has triggered a wave of criticism from legal experts and human rights advocates. Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor of international law at Notre Dame, condemned the action, calling it a violation of fundamental legal principles. “The U.S. had no right to intentionally kill these suspects. This was extrajudicial and unlawful,” she said.

The strike, unprecedented in its execution and scope, could mark a major turning point in U.S. counter-narcotics policy and raises serious questions about legality, proportionality, and accountability in international waters. As international scrutiny intensifies, the lack of transparency and evidence from the U.S. side has only deepened the controversy surrounding this high-stakes operation.