Washington's aims in the region are not entirely clear after fatally striking a drug-carrying vessel earlier this week, analysts say.

The Trump administration is warning would-be drug traffickers that they will meet the same fate as those killed in a boat the U.S blew up Tuesday in the southern Caribbean, a dramatic escalation in the drug war and the White House's bitter feud with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that the ship was operated by a "designated narco-terrorist organization."

As U.S. warships and troops gather in the Caribbean, Mr. Maduro threatened an “armed fight” in response to any military action. He also appealed for peace.

US President Donald Trump is escalating his “maximum pressure” campaign against the socialist government of Venezuela with the deployment of warships, aircraft and troops to the southern Caribbean. On Sep.

President Trump’s top diplomat, a former Florida senator, has depicted Venezuela as a vestige of the communist ideology in the Western Hemisphere.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-laden vessel that had departed from Venezuela.

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Sept. 3, 2025, that it was ending Temporary Protected Status for over 250,000 Venezuelans who received the protections in 2021.