Trump wrote on the ‘Truth Social’ platform: ‘This morning, the Secretary of Defense ordered a lethal kinetic strike against a ship associated with a designated terrorist organization that was smuggling drugs in the Southern Command area of responsibility off the coast of Venezuela.’ He continued: ‘The strike was conducted in international waters, resulting in the death of 6 terrorist drug traffickers on board the ship.’
Earlier, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, stated today, Friday, that the ongoing US naval deployment off the coast of Venezuela poses a direct threat to regional and international peace and security.
On August 19, 2025, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt announced that US President Donald Trump is prepared to use ‘all elements of American power.’ The Venezuelan government described the US deployment of warships, including a missile cruiser and a nuclear attack submarine, to its coasts as a ‘provocation and an attempt to destabilize, and a violation of international agreements regarding the demilitarized and non-nuclear character of the Caribbean region.’
