Trump Says the US Has Bombed Three Boats Near Venezuela

The president previously announced the bombing of two boats near Venezuela that he claimed were carrying drugs, without providing evidence, and released footage of the strikes. “We knocked off actually three boats, not two, but you saw two,” Trump said.

He made the comments when asked what message he wanted to send to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “Stop sending Tren de Aragua into the United States, stop sending drugs into the United States,” he said.

The Trump administration has claimed that Maduro controls the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TDA), but that contradicts a declassified US intelligence assessment. “The Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States,” a memo from the Office of the Director of Intelligence, dated April 7, 2025, reads.

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