SANTO DOMINGO, Sept 22 — US warplanes struck a drug-trafficking boat off the Dominican Republic, killing three people, in what officials confirmed as an escalation of American military operations in the Caribbean.
SANTO DOMINGO, Sept 22 — US warplanes struck a drug-trafficking boat off the Dominican Republic, killing three people, in what officials confirmed as an escalation of American military operations in the Caribbean.
The attack was announced at a joint press conference by the Dominican Republic’s DNCD anti-narcotics agency and a spokesperson for the US embassy. The US official said the strike was the same one President Donald Trump referred to on Friday, though without specifying the location at the time. It followed a series of US attacks on suspected drug boats near Venezuela.
In this incident, American jets targeted a speedboat carrying around 1,000 kilograms of cocaine some 80 nautical miles from Beata Island, DNCD spokesman Carlos Devers said. A source close to the investigation suggested the vessel may have originated from Venezuela.
The US has now acknowledged three recent operations in the Caribbean that have destroyed drug boats and killed more than a dozen people. Unlike standard anti-narcotics procedures, the vessels have been destroyed rather than seized, and crews killed rather than detained.
Trump confirmed Friday that US forces had destroyed a drug-smuggling boat in international waters, killing three, sharing a video on Truth Social showing a speedboat in a weapon’s crosshairs before erupting in flames.
The US has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine off Venezuela’s southern coast, and 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of the campaign, which has drawn strong criticism across Latin America. The escalation has raised fears of a possible military move against Venezuela, as well as debate over the legality of killing suspects when drug trafficking is not a capital crime under US law.
Washington has yet to provide evidence that the targeted vessels were indeed carrying drugs. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of using anti-drug operations as a pretext for regime change. — AFP
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