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Rubio confirms 'lethal strike' on drug-carrying boat off Venezuela

Washington claims that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is part of the Cartel de los Soles, whose existence Caracas denies

WASHINGTON, September 2. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed US President Donald Trump’s statement that the US military had opened fire at a boat carrying drugs near Venezuela.

"As @potus just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization," he wrote on his X page.

Reuters reported on August 19, citing Pentagon sources, that three US missile destroyers (USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and USS Sampson) had been deployed near Venezuela as part of an effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels. Other reports mentioned the deployment of the USS Newport News submarine, the USS Lake Erie missile cruiser, landing ships and 4,500 troops. According to the New York Times, US President Donald Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels.

Washington claims that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is part of the Cartel de los Soles (or the Cartel of the Suns), whose existence Caracas denies.

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United States Venezuela Donald Trump

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