News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Sept. 3, 2025: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday evening dismissed U.S. claims of a deadly strike on a narcotics vessel linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, framing the announcement by President Donald Trump as part of what he called Washington’s bid to seize Venezuela’s oil and gas wealth.
Appearing on state television alongside first lady Cilia Flores, Maduro walked the streets of his childhood neighborhood, greeted by supporters that presenters said reflected “patriotic love.”
“In the face of imperialist threats, God is with us,” Maduro told the crowd. He avoided mentioning the reported strike directly, but accused the United States of “coming for Venezuela’s riches,” insisting that peace and sovereignty would prevail.
“From the neighborhoods of Caracas … I tell you, there will be peace in Venezuela, with sovereignty,” Maduro said.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez openly questioned the authenticity of a video clip posted by Trump on social media showing a vessel erupting in flames. “Based on the video provided, it is very likely that it was created using Artificial Intelligence,” Ñáñez wrote on Telegram, describing it as “almost cartoonish” rather than a realistic explosion.
Trump said the strike took place in international waters of the southern Caribbean, killing 11 suspected traffickers en route to the United States. He called it a warning to drug networks operating in the region. “No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The alleged attack marks a rare U.S. military operation in the Americas, escalating Washington’s pressure campaign on Venezuela even as Maduro seeks to project calm and defiance at home.
Currently, the U.S. Navy has deployed the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie, the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Newport News, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson, the littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-St. Paul, and the amphibious assault ships USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, and USS Fort Lauderdale to Caribbean waters near Venezuela.
That accounts for roughly 4,500 personnel, including over 2,000 Marines, to waters near Venezuela in an attempt to target drug cartels.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar on Tuesday welcomed the attack by the United States military on an alleged Venezuela-based drug vessel, saying illegally trafficked drugs and arms have caused death and destruction in our society over the last 25 years.
Persad Bissessar, who has openly supported Washington’s war on drugs in the Latin America and the Caribbean, said she had “no sympathy for traffickers” and that the US military should “kill them all violently.
“I, along with most of the country, am happy that the US naval deployment is having success in their mission,” she told the Guardian Media. “Illegally trafficked drugs and arms have caused death and destruction in our society over the last 25 years. Our country has been ravaged by bloody violence and addiction because of the greed of the cartels. The slaughter of our people is fueled by evil cartel traffickers. The pain and suffering the cartels have inflicted on our nation is immense.”
