The country’s interior minister said those killed in a U.S. Caribbean strike were not drug traffickers, raising questions about the legality of the attack.
Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, condemned a recent U.S. military strike in the Caribbean as „a murder“, directly challenging President Donald Trump’s claim that those killed were „narcoterrorists.“
The New York Times reported that the vessel was turning back before it was struck, raising further questions about the legality of the attack.
Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and Venezuela’s foreign ministry for comment.Why It Matters
Over the past month, Trump authorized increased U.S. military deployments in the Caribbean, sending thousands of troops and positioning fighter jets and naval assets near Venezuela as part of his administration’s broader anti-drug and anti-cartel operations. Caracas has responded by mobilizing troops, police, and civilian defenses along the coast, with President Nicolás Maduro framing the U.S. presence as a threat to national sovereignty.
The recent strike highlights how quickly these deployments can escalate into lethal action, raising questions about international law, presidential authority, and the risk of further destabilization in Latin America.What To Know
Speaking on state television late Thursday, Cabello condemned the U.S. military strike as „a murder committed against a group of citizens using lethal force.“ He stressed that local investigations found none of the 11 killed were members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang or drug traffickers.
