US strikes small vessel in Caribbean as tensions with Venezuela rise

The United States carried out a precision strike in the southern Caribbean this week that destroyed a small vessel and, according to President Donald Trump, killed 11 people, setting off a rapid escalation of tensions with Venezuela that included Venezuelan fighter jets flying over a U.S. Navy destroyer and reports the United States is deploying F35 stealth fighters to the region. U.S. officials said the boat had departed Venezuela, was operated by members of the Tren de Aragua gang and was carrying narcotics, while Venezuelan authorities and President Nicolás Maduro have rejected those claims and warned of a forceful response.

U.S. officials released few operational details about the strike, which Trump posted about on social media along with a short video of a boat exploding. The administration has said it has been increasing maritime forces off Venezuela to combat drug trafficking, and in recent weeks Washington has dispatched multiple warships, surveillance aircraft and Marines to the southern Caribbean as part of a counternarcotics buildup. The Pentagon has described the vessel targeted as posing an imminent threat to U.S. security and has defended the use of force against...