Watch: US strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat near Venezuela kills four

The US military has struck a boat that was allegedly trafficking drugs off the Venezuelan coast, killing four. On Friday (3 October), Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared footage of the strike, which shows a small speed boat exploding into flames whilst sailing in the Caribbean. Hegseth claimed that the boat was a “narco-trafficking vessel”. “The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics - headed to America to poison our people,” he said on X. Donald Trump also confirmed the strike on his Truth Social platform, saying that the boat was carrying enough drugs “to kill 25 to 50 thousand people”. The attack marks at least the fourth known US military strike in the Caribbean since the beginning of September.