US Military Attacks Drug Transport Ships In Latest Operations

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump said the United States attacked a ship that was said to be transporting drugs in the US Southern Command's responsibility area.

This attack is the latest US attack in the region.

This latest attack at least the third against ships suspected of transporting drugs was carried out amid a large increase in US military force in the southern Caribbean. Five F-35 aircraft were seen landing in Puerto Rico on Saturday after the Trump administration ordered 10 stealth fighters to join the force increase.

In an upload on Truth Social, Trump said the Pentagon launched an attack on its orders, killing "3 narcoticsmen aboard the ship."

"The intelligence confirms that the ship smuggled illegal narcotics and is crossing a known narcotics trade route to poison Americans," Trump said.

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is a US military combat command that includes 31 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Trump did not provide evidence but uploaded a one-minute air video showing two videos side by side from the ship, one in color and one in black and white, while moving in the water.

About half the way, the ship appeared to have been hit by at least one projectile and then exploded. The video ends in an aerial point of view from the ship that caught fire in the water.

Trump did not mention where the ship departed or where exactly the attack took place.

In addition to the F-35, there are at least seven US warships in the region, as well as one nuclear-powered submarine.

The US military launched an attack earlier this week, opening a new tab in the South Caribbean, targeting a ship suspected of belonging to a Venezuelan drug cartel heading to the United States.