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THERE were mixed local views on the latest US military kinetic strike on an alleged drug vessel in the southern Caribbean Sea, about whether this means the US military deployment which began in the region in August is an anti-narcotics exercise or a prelude to a larger military operation against Venezuela.

In a post on X on November 1, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a US military strike on an alleged drug vessel in the southern Caribbean which killed three people.

“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean."