Reuters news agency reported, citing a senior US official, that the US military conducted a new raid on a suspected drug trafficking ship in the Caribbean Sea on Thursday (October 16, 2025); in this operation, the ship’s crew survived for the first time.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide further details but stressed that there were survivors and that this was the first such case in recent attacks.
The attack on the ship is part of a wider US military operation against drug traffickers in the region, which has left at least 27 dead in previous attacks on ships near the Venezuelan coast.
These actions have raised concerns among legal experts and Democratic lawmakers and have called into question the US military’s adherence to the laws of war.
Venezuela called the attacks a violation of its sovereignty and asked the United Nations Security Council to confirm their illegality.
