Tensions escalate in the Pacific: US attacks three more ships, killing eight crew members

BarcelonaThe United States has attacked three more ships in the Pacific Ocean, killing eight people. This brings the total number of victims of US bombings to 95. of the naval and military deployment that Donald Trump maintains against the Nicolás Maduro regimeThe attack early this morning was announced to X by the U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for operations in Latin America. The publication includes a video of the attack and explains that the "lethal" operation took place in international waters and was ordered by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. They also claim that military intelligence had previously confirmed that the vessels were actively involved in drug and weapons trafficking. The attack occurred in international waters near Colombia, which Trump said would be the "next target" after Venezuela.

Since September, the U.S. armed forces have destroyed more than twenty vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific that were allegedly operated by drug traffickers—without providing any evidence to support this claim. The latest raid was last Wednesday night, when the U.S. further increased pressure on Venezuela and They attacked and confiscated an oil tanker off the coast of the South American country.

According to the US military, all eight people killed in this latest attack were men. This morning's triple attack is one of the deadliest since the start of Trump's controversial military campaign against Venezuela. The repeated attacks since September—now totaling 25—have provoked outrage from legal experts and some members of the US Congress, who denounce the killing of unarmed civilians as a violation of the laws of war.

Abrupt resignation

The three new attacks come just days after Admiral Alvin Holsey, who was in charge of Southern Command, abruptly stepped down. Although the reason for his resignation has not been clarified, three voices within the U.S. administration—a government official, a former official, and a congressional official—assured the New York TimesSpeaking on condition of anonymity, it was revealed that Admiral Holsey had expressed concern about the attacks on Latin America at the start of the mission. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said in recent hours that he is confident that American citizens will stop the "madmen who want to impose a war for oil in South America." He said this on his weekly program on state television, where he asserted that social and labor movements, as well as Christian churches in the United States and "many political leaders," are "fully aware of the value of peace in America and the value of respecting Venezuela."