Critics Allege White House 'Propaganda' After US Bombs Boat Off Venezuela Coast

[Judi Lynn]

"This is not about drugs, crime, or national security," asserted one expert. "It is about oil that the US would rather not pay for."

Brett Wilkins
Sep 02, 2025


Critics of US imperialism on Tuesday responded with skepticism after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a deadly military strike on what they claimed was a boat linked to a drug cartel off the coast of oil-rich Venezuela.

Trump said on his Truth Social network that 11 people were killed by a US attack in "international waters" on a boat "positively identified" as being used by the Tren de Aragua gang. Rubio said the "lethal strike" targeted "a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela."

On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Last month, the president reportedly signed a secret order directing the Pentagon to use military force to combat drug cartels abroad, sparking fears of renewed US aggression in a region that has endured well over 100 US attacks, invasions, occupations, and other interventions since the issuance of the dubious Monroe Doctrine in 1823.

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In an opinion piece published Tuesday by Venezuelanalysis, former Italian parliamentarian and organized crime expert Pino Arlacchi called the latest US aggression against Venezuela a "great hoax" and "geopolitics disguised as 'War on Drugs.'"

"This is not about drugs, crime, or national security," Arlacchi asserted. "It is about oil that the US would rather not pay for."

More:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-strikes-boat-off-venezuela