The U.S. shot down six members of Tren de Aragua in the Caribbean. Hegseth promised 'to hunt them down and eliminate them' under Trump's policy
The operation took place as part of a broad U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, which includes the deployment of the destroyer USS Gravely and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The first troops will arrive next weekend in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, to conduct joint exercises with the Trinidadian Defence Force.
According to the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the training aims to "reinforce interoperability and strengthen long-term defense cooperation" between the two countries.
Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, the United States has resumed its international offensive against drug trafficking networks operating from South America and the Caribbean. In recent months, Washington has mobilized warships, a submarine, and fighter jets in joint operations that have already left 37 drug traffickers dead in nine attacks on suspicious boats.
President Trump has insisted that "there will be no refuge for criminals who poison our people," and that his administration "will not hesitate to use all necessary force to destroy narco-terrorism."
With this new action, Trump seeks to make it clear that the era of impunity for Latin American drug trafficking has come to an end.
U.S. forces attacked a narco-boat overnight in international Caribbean waters, leaving six dead. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth reported that the boat "was operated by Tren de Aragua", a criminal organization of Venezuelan origin.
"Our intelligence services knew that the boat was involved in narcotics smuggling," Hegseth stated in a message on the X (formerly Twitter) network, confirming responsibility for the operation and its link to the cartel.
In his statement, the Secretary of Defense was forceful and repeated one of the most resonant phrases of the new security approach promoted by Donald Trump: "If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling narcotics in our hemisphere, we will treat you as we treat Al Qaeda," while indicating: "we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and eliminate you."
Under this line, the Pentagon has adopted a "zero tolerance" policy against drug trafficking mafias, which it considers direct threats to national security and enemies of the free hemisphere.
