U.S. Attacks Another Ship in the Caribbean; Survivors Reported

The U.S. military carried out another strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea near the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, according to officials cited by U.S. media outlets.

The attack targeted a sixth ship allegedly linked to drug trafficking, under the administration of President Donald Trump, and was conducted by members of the U.S. Southern Command in the Caribbean, officials told CBS News.

The strike was not publicly announced by Trump on his social media accounts, as he often does. However, a group of officials confirmed the operation and reported that there were survivors — the first such instance, as the previous attacks had resulted in 27 people killed.

Twenty-four hours before the assault, Trump stated that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out covert operations and said he was considering the possibility of conducting land-based missions, claiming that maritime drug trafficking had been largely halted.

Since August, the U.S. Southern Command has deployed ships and aircraft near Venezuela’s coast under the justification of combating drug trafficking, escalating tensions between the two nations.