Name: New U.S. strike on alleged drug boat kills four
Uploaded: 2025-12-18T17:34:20.653Z
Duration: 1 min 30 s
Description: The U.S. military said Wednesday that it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people on the same day the House rejected efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels.

The U.S. military said Wednesday that it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people on the same day the House rejected efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels.

The U.S. military reported that four individuals were killed following an attack on a boat suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. President Trump defended the strike as part of a broader campaign against drug cartels, describing the situation as an armed conflict and escalating measures against Venezuela, including a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels.

The Trump administration's actions have faced increasing criticism from congressional Democrats, who sought but failed to require congressional authorization for further strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth defended the campaign as a counter-narcotics effort, though they did not clarify its objectives regarding Venezuela.

New U.S. strike on alleged drug boat kills four

The U.S. military said four people were killed after it attacked another boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to combat drug trafficking and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels. Tensions have risen with Venezuela as Trump expressed willingness to conduct strikes on land and ordered a blockade this week on sanctioned oil vessels coming into and out of Venezuela. Trump vowed to continue the military build-up until the country gave the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the U.S. had a claim. Getting land, oil rights, whatever we had. They took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn't watching. But they're not going to do that. We want it back. They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there. As you know, they threw our companies down and we want it back. The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from congressional Democrats over the Boat Strike campaign. House Republicans rejected Democratic-backed resolutions on Wednesday that would have forced the government to seek authorization from Congress before continuing its attacks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth defended the campaign as a successful counter-narcotic effort, but did not inform Congress about its ultimate goals when it comes to Venezuela.

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