The U.S. military announced Monday night that a strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed one “narco-terrorist.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Southern Command said on X that military personnel conducted a lethal strike at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s direction on a vessel “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes” that was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Defense Department has repeatedly said targeted vessels are carrying narcotics to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States has conducted more than two dozen strikes against alleged drug boats, killing over 100 people in the Pacific and Caribbean since September, according to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to reporters Monday, President Donald Trump would not specify what his \u201cend game\u201d in the region was, but he issued a warning to Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“He could do whatever he wants, it\u2019s all right, whatever he wants to do,” Trump said. “If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it\u2019ll be the last time he\u2019s ever able to play tough.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether the ultimate goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump said: \u201cThat\u2019s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump extended his warning to Venezuela\u2019s neighbors, saying Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist who has drawn Trump\u2019s ire after he loudly opposed the boat strikes, was \u201cno friend of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very bad, very bad guy, and he\u2019s got to watch his a–,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe love the Colombian people. I love the Colombian people. They\u2019re great people, energetic, smart, great. But their new leader is a troublemaker, and he better watch it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n