Why the U.S. military is striking boats from Venezuela

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The Washington Post

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🗓️ 15 September 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

President Donald Trump recently celebrated the destruction of a boat that was allegedly carrying illegal narcotics from Venezuela to the United States. The 11 people on board were killed, according to the White House. Trump released a video on social media showing the boat going up in flames, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that more attacks like this could be coming.

Members of Congress have yet to gain more details or evidence into the unusual strike, which did not follow typical maritime protocols. The administration has claimed those on board were “narco-terrorists” and members of the criminal group Tren de Aragua, while Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro has called in thousands of reservists over concerns that this could be the opening shot in a broader conflict between the U.S. and Venezuela.

These and other developments, including a rebranding of the Department of Defense and a visit by Pete Hegseth to Puerto Rico, have many wondering: Have we entered a new era in the nearly quarter-century war on terror?

Today, host Colby Itkowitz speaks with national security reporter Tara Copp about the details of the attack and how Trump is making it a military priority to go after drug cartels.

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon with help from Lucas Trevor. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and mixed by Sean Carter. Special thanks to Andy deGrandpre.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In early September, President Donald Trump posted a grainy black and white video to his social media.
0:08.8	There's no audio. At the very top, in all caps, are the words unclassified.
0:15.9	The video shows a small boat riding out in the open ocean. You can see people on board.
0:22.2	The video then switches to a wide shot taken from above the boat. Suddenly, the boat goes up in flames. According to the
0:30.7	Trump administration, this boat was on its way from Venezuela to the United States, allegedly
0:35.2	transporting illegal drugs for a criminal gang called
0:38.0	Trend de Aragua.
0:39.7	The U.S. could have stopped the boat and taken the alleged smugglers into custody.
0:44.7	Instead, it chose to blow up the boat, and the White House says all 11 people on board were killed.
0:51.1	We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat,
0:59.0	a lot of drugs in that boat. Here's President Trump, speaking about the incident shortly after it
1:04.0	happened. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time, and we just,
1:09.8	these came out of Venezuela, and coming out very heavily from Venezuela.
1:14.0	The president considers the people on that boat,
1:17.4	narco-terrorists, and considers the organization delivering those drugs,
1:21.8	a terrorist organization.
1:23.4	And he's kind of changing the paradigm on how the U.S. reacts to this drug trade.
1:28.0	Tara Cop covers the military and national security for the post.
1:31.8	She has been spending the last few weeks trying to understand what happened during the strike against a Venezuelan boat.
1:37.8	And why?
1:38.9	So it's still really unclear exactly what authorities and powers he used.
1:44.5	You know, what was the legal justification?
	...

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