Russia, Venezuela Slam US Strike On Caribbean Ship

By Staff, Agencies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil have expressed serious concern about recent US actions in the Caribbean Sea during a telephone conversation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"The two ministers expressed grave concern over Washington's increasingly escalatory actions in the Caribbean Sea, which are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the entire region," the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement read.

It added that Russia strongly condemns the US military's October 3 strike on a vessel in international waters off the Venezuelan coast.

On October 3, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said a strike on a suspected drug vessel near Venezuela killed four alleged "narco-terrorists."

The latest strike raises the death toll to 21 across four recent attacks, with no confirmed links between the victims and drug trafficking. Washington’s lack of proof sparks concern over possible unlawful killings under a false pretext.

This new doctrine stems from Trump’s declaration of "armed conflict" with drug cartels, reclassifying them as "terrorist organizations"—a move critics say sidesteps international law.

The Trump administration has framed these strikes as shows of force, not law enforcement.

Communications director Steven Cheung boasted traffickers were "turned into stardust," while Trump claimed on Truth Social that a drug-laden boat capable of killing “25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE” was stopped off Venezuela’s coast.

Independent analysts and international law experts say the campaign looks like a covert regime change effort, especially as US forces, including F-35 jets, build up near Venezuela—the biggest Caribbean military display in over 30 years.