&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US strikes another ‘narco-trafficking’ boat, kills 4 day after Trump’s Venezuela blockade. Watch")
The United States on Wednesday (Dec 17) announced that its forces had carried out another strike at a 'narco-trafficking' vessel. In a statement, the US military said that the latest Operation Southern Spear strike has killed 4 people. This comes just a day after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Dec 16) dramatically escalated his pressure campaign against Venezuela, announcing what he called a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country. In recent weeks, US forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region, operations that have killed nearly 90 people. Last week, American forces also seized a large oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, claiming it was transporting black-market oil in violation of US sanctions. Washington later announced fresh sanctions on additional vessels tied to the trade.
At Pete Hegseth's instructions
In a post on X, US Southern Command said, “On Dec. 17, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation in international waters.” It claimed that intelligence confirmed that the “vessel was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. A total of four male narco-terrorists were killed, and no U.S. military forces were harmed.”
Also read | Delhi shuts doors on older cars: Is your vehicle banned in Delhi? New BS VI rule EXPLAINED
It also posted a video which shows billowing smoke after the vessel was hit. Watch it here:
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