News Beat
US strikes three more narco boats as 3 people killed and others leap overboard to escape
TRUMP’s military has struck three more alleged narco-boats, killing at least three people, while others jumped overboard.
The boats were seen travelling in close proximity to each other in a video posted to social media.
According to the military, the boats were in a convoy, travelling along a well known narco-trafficking route, and “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes”.
The number of boats hit amid The Don’s war on drugs has now increased to 33, with the number of people killed reaching at least 110 since early September.
An announcement from the US Southern Command did not reveal the location of the latest strike.
The command unit oversees operations in South America.
Previous strikes have focused on the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The statement said that three people had been killed when the first boat was struck, while passengers on the other boats jumped overboard into the water.
While they distanced themselves from the vessels, it is unclear whether there are any survivors.
The Southern Command said it immediately reported the strike to the US Coast Guard, where a rescue effort has since been launched.
The announcement said the strikes were carried out on Tuesday.
The Pentagon has yet to comment on the latest hits.
Trump has called the strikes a necessary escalation, in his ongoing war against drugs, where he is looking to stem the flow of illicit substances into the US.
He said the US was in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
The Trump administration has built up military forces in the region alongside the strikes, in an escalating pressure campaign on Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been accused of heading up drug-trafficking cartels and has been charged with narco-terrorism by the United States.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and continuously insisted the true motivation behind the military operations is to force him from power.
This comes after the CIA reportedly carried out a massive drone attack on a Venezuelan port where drugs were allegedly being loaded onto boats heading to the US.
Trump declared that his military “hit” a Venezuelan dock area on Monday, but refused to elaborate on how he orchestrated the strike.
The Christmas Eve drone strike was carried out by the CIA, multiple sources told CNN.
While welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago property, Trump announced: “We hit all the boats”.
He added: “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.
“We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area.”
