U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that the U.S. military has targeted three Venezuelan boats so far, rather than the two incidents previously reported.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump remarked, “We knocked off three boats,” suggesting that Washington’s campaign against Venezuelan vessels may be more extensive than what has been made public.
The two publicly acknowledged strikes include a September 2 attack that killed 11 Venezuelans and a September 15 strike that killed three more. In both cases, Trump and his administration alleged the boats were carrying narcotics and that the men aboard were part of a drug cartel headed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
So far, however, no evidence has been provided to support those claims. Analysts have raised doubts over the U.S. justification, noting that the boats in question appeared too small to reach U.S. shores, making them unlikely vehicles for large-scale drug smuggling operations. Reports also indicate that when Pentagon officials briefed Congress, they did not present proof linking either the boats or the victims to drug trafficking.
Trump’s statement raises the possibility that such operations are becoming semi-regular and may even represent the early stages of a larger strategy against Maduro. While some observers speculate that Trump may have been referring to the three men killed in the most recent strike rather than three boats, the ambiguity has fueled debate over U.S. intentions.
The precedent of targeting and destroying civilian vessels—rather than interdicting or searching them—has heightened fears that Washington is laying the groundwork for direct military intervention in Venezuela. The U.S. has already deployed at least eight vessels to the region, including five guided-missile destroyers, amphibious landing craft, two submarines, along with 10 stealth fighters and approximately 4,000 Marines.
Washington continues to describe its actions as part of counter-narcotics operations, while framing Maduro as the leader of a criminal cartel. But with mounting skepticism and a growing U.S. naval presence in the Caribbean, the escalation is increasingly being viewed as a possible precursor to a broader campaign aimed at destabilizing or removing Maduro’s government.