WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said United States (US) forces killed three people Monday in a new strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, as Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro vowed to defend against Washington’s “aggression.”

The strike on what Trump called “narcoterrorists from Venezuela” comes after another strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat earlier this month killed 11 people, and amid a large US naval build-up in the region.

“This morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike,” Trump said on his Truth Social network, adding that “The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action.”

Trump — whose administration denies accusations that such strikes amount to extrajudicial killings — also posted a video of a boat bobbing in the sea before exploding in a ball of orange flame.

“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US,” he said.

Tensions between longtime foes, the United States and Venezuela, reached new heights in recent weeks after Trump dispatched eight warships to waters near Venezuela to pressure Maduro.

The United States accuses the leftist of heading a cocaine trafficking cartel and recently doubled its bounty for his capture to $50 million. Much of the international community rejected his July 2024 re-election, with the opposition claiming widespread fraud.

Maduro hit back on Monday, branding US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the “lord of death and war” over his tough rhetoric on Latin American cartels.

Referring to the US naval build-up and the earlier boat attack, Maduro told reporters that Caracas would “fully” exercise its “legitimate right to defend itself.”

Maduro often accuses the United States of attempting regime change in his country.

Speculation has been swirling that the Trump administration could be preparing targeted strikes against Latin American drug cartels, including in Venezuela.

Trump refused to deny it was a possibility on Sunday.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters when asked if strikes on the Venezuelan mainland were possible. “Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable.”

Earlier this month, Washington dramatically upped the ante by blowing up a speedboat with 11 people on board that it claimed was smuggling drugs from Venezuela.

In an interview with Fox News during a visit to Jerusalem on Monday, Rubio defended the attack on the boat travelling in international waters, amid questions over its legality.

“We have 100 per cent fidelity and certainty that that boat was involved in that trafficking of those drugs,” Rubio said.

“What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up,” the US top diplomat said, claiming the number of boats carrying drugs to the United States had “dropped dramatically” since the first missile strike.