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The U.S. military has taken survivors into custody after a Thursday drone strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, according to a report.
Two U.S. officials told The Associated Press the strike was the sixth carried out under the Trump administration as it continues targeting smuggling vessels operated by drug cartels.
One official said the strike, conducted on what is believed to be a semi-submersible or submersible vessel, killed at least one person and left at least two survivors.
US MILITARY DRONE STRIKE ON DRUG ‘SUBMERSIBLE’ IN CARIBBEAN LEAVES SURVIVORS, OFFICIAL CONFIRMS
President Donald Trump has targeted Venezuelan drug boats with military strikes. The U.S. has taken two survivors from a Thursday strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social/AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Thursday’s incident marks the first known case of survivors since U.S. forces began their campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug boats.
It was not immediately clear what would be done with the individuals. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State and War departments for comment.
The Thursday strike brings the death toll from the Trump administration’s military campaign against vessels in the region to at least 28. The operations began last month and are part of Trump’s broader effort to dismantle transnational cartels by force.
TRUMP’S WAR ON CARTELS ENTERS NEW PHASE AS EXPERTS PREDICT WHAT’S NEXT
The U.S. has been escalating strikes on drug boats near Venezuelan waters. (@realDonald Trump/Truth Social; Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
On Friday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force within U.S. Southern Command.
The task force aims to “crush the cartels, stop the poison and keep America safe,” Hegseth wrote last week on X, formerly Twitter. “The message is clear: If you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold.”
On Tuesday, Trump highlighted a separate strike that killed six suspected smugglers aboard a vessel off the coast of Venezuela.
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“Venezuela is a big purveyor of drugs,” Trump told reporters later that day in the Oval Office, accusing the country of sending its “criminals” into the United States.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
