U.S. strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean kills 3

The U.S. struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, the military announced Monday afternoon.

More than 40 such strikes have been carried out in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, killing at least 137 people, according to statements from the Defense Department tracked by NBC News.

The targeted boat on Monday was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X, adding that no U.S. forces were harmed. It did not provide evidence that the boat or people on board were involved in drug trafficking.

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U.S. Southern Command said that Gen. Francis L. Donovan directed the strike. Donovan, a Marine Corps general and head of U.S. Southern Command, visited Caracas, Venezuela, last week, where he met U.S. service members and interagency partners, U.S. Southern Command said at the time.

Venezuelan state television, VTV, said that Donovan had met with acting President Delcy Rodríguez and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

The U.S. Justice Department has indicted both Padrino and Cabello in the past on drug trafficking charges. The Venezuelan armed forces rejected the accusations against Padrino, Cabello, and other military and political leaders who had indictments against them unsealed in 2020.

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Exclusive interview with Venezuela’s interim leader

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Donovan's visit was the first by a military delegation since the U.S. captured then-President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, and it adds to a list of high-ranking U.S. officials who have visited the country since the operation as the Trump administration seeks to exert control over the country’s new government, led by Rodríguez.

Rodríguez has maintained that Maduro is still the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

Monday’s strike comes three days after a strike in the eastern Pacific also killed three people. The strikes have been criticized by members of Congress, primarily Democrats, as well as some advocacy groups over the legal justification for the attacks. President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that the strikes are preventing illicit drugs from entering the U.S.