Three people have been killed in a second U.S. strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat, according to President Donald Trump.
"This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility," Trump wrote on social media. "The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S."
U.S. Southern Command referred questions on the strike to the White House.
Trump announced earlier this month that 11 people had been killed in a similar strike on a boat.
Trump claimed the first drug boat, struck on Sept. 2, was carrying a "massive amounts of drugs," and was operated by members of the South American gang Tren de Aragua. Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said last Thursday on state television that none of the members of the crew were part of Tren de Aragua or drug traffickers.
The boat had turned around and was headed for shore shortly before the strike began, according to a person familiar with the matter, a detail first reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
There are currently eight Navy ships operating in the region: seven operating in the Caribbean and one in the Pacific.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.