President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. has struck a fifth vessel off the coast of Venezuela as his administration continues ramping up pressure on the Maduro regime. The attack killed six people, Trump added.
In a social media post on his platform, Truth Social, Trump said he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a “lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela.”
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route. The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. No U.S. Forces were harmed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!” the publication adds.
The attack comes as the commander of the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) Alvin Holsey visits Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago, two countries geographically close to Venezuela. The armed forces are seeking to install military equipment in Grenada, located 100 miles from the South American country. Grenada has not replied to the request. Antigua and Barbuda rejected holding any military equipment from the U.S.
Several reports throughout the past weeks have also detailed other moves, including that there are now 10,000 troops deployed in the region. They are in Puerto Rico and aboard eight surface warships and a submarine.
Despite the escalation, Venezuelan insiders have claimed that Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro won’t relinquish power voluntarily despite increased pressure.
Speaking to Spanish outlet El Pais, one people with knowledge of the regime’s thinking said “Maduro is not going anywhere.” “Maduro has practically no other fate than resisting whatever comes and waiting for Trump to hesitate,” the person added.
Trump has anticipated the possibility of escalating the situation further with strikes inside Venezuela territory. However, the report added, the South American country’s leaders (Delcy and Jorge Rodriguez, Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino Lopez), along with Maduro, have “developed their survival instincts to the fullest after more than six years of governing in extreme situations,” and think “this storm shall pass too.”
Concretely, they believe that the cost of an armed clash would be too high for the U.S. and Trump will back down before getting to that point.
Originally published on Latin Times
