When President Donald Trump and Defense officials revealed on Sept.2 that the U.S.
military killed 11 alleged drug smugglers on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, they touted it as a success in their war against South American cartels.Their initial comments were met with scrutiny due to the lack of details they provided.More questions arose months later after it was reported that survivors from the attack were killed in a subsequent strike.
The White House confirmed that there was more than one strike on the boat.PHOTO: President Trump announced on his social media platform that he ordered U.S.military forces to conduct "a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility."@realDonaldTrump/Truth SocialTrump first announced the strike on his social media site as a "kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility."Timeline: US strikes on alleged drug boatsThe post included a video of the strike that showed only one hit.Trump alleged that the boat was under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolas Madruo.
Maduro denied the allegations and criticized the U.S.for the attack.Trump said a day later that a "massive" amount of drugs was on the boat, but provided little detail."It was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people.
And, everybody fully understands that fact.You see it, you see the bags of drugs all over the boat, and they were hit," Trump told reporters at the White House on Sept.
3."When they watch that tape, they're going to say, 'Let's not do this.'"Pete Hegseth speaks during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Sept.
2, 2025.Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThat same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also touted the strike during a "Fox & Friends" interview and refuted a Maduro spokesperson's suggestion that the video was AI-generated."That was definitel...