Trump's USA Tensions in the Caribbean

The US has bombed an alleged drug boat in the Pacific

The US military has carried out its eighth attack on a ship allegedly carrying drugs, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, according to the AP.

Wednesday's attack is the first in the Pacific. The previous ones were carried out in the Caribbean Sea. According to Hegseth, two people were killed, which means a total of 34 deaths in the attacks.

In a video clip Hegseth shared, a small boat is seen, half full of brown packages. After a few seconds, the boat is seen exploding.

"Just as al-Qaeda fought against our homeland, the cartels are fighting against our borders and our people," Hegseth writes.

The US expands the attacks - alarms about a cover-up

The Trump administration has expanded its operations with the latest attack on an alleged drug boat, writes the New York Times. The reason is that it is the first American attack on a target in the Pacific Ocean.

According to information to CBS, the attack took place in international waters off the coast of Colombia.

Three people are said to have been killed in the bombing, which prompted Colombian President Gustavo Petro to say that the United States is violating international law, according to local El Tiempo.

The American presence in Latin America is also criticized in its homeland. Republican politician Todd Young warned on Wednesday evening that the decisions were kept secret from Congress, reports Axios.

Police in the US spread false rumors about gang threats

A rumor is spreading like wildfire within the US police force in 2024: The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is said to have given its members the “green light” to shoot or attack American police.

But the claim was unfounded, the FBI concluded in an internal investigation in December of that year, The Guardian reports. By then, the rumor had already spread widely, both within the police and in the media. In addition, the authorities had acted forcefully on a false threat and the matter had been allowed to become a bargaining chip in the political debate.

Experts the newspaper spoke to are critical and concerned about the extent to which the police verify information before making “bombastic” claims.

Trump's war on alleged drug terrorism — it's relevant

• The United States has carried out at least six military attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela in the fall of 2025.
• According to the United States, the boats were in the process of smuggling drugs to the United States. No evidence of this has been presented.
• President Donald Trump has declared the United States to be in armed conflict with terrorist drug cartels and has given the military and the CIA expanded powers to act against them.
• At least 27 people have been killed in the US attacks at sea. Several of the operations have taken place in international waters.
• Venezuela has condemned the US actions and responded by mobilizing tens of thousands of soldiers and increasing security in the country's coastal regions.
• Several experts and international observers have questioned the legal basis for the US attacks. According to Venezuela, it is an attempt to carry out a coup d'état.