SOCOM strikes and sinks alleged drug speedboat off Venezuela; Trump announces 11 Tren de Aragua members killed

US Special Operations Command conducted its first strike under Operation Southern Spear on September 2, 2025, sinking an alleged drug-trafficking speedboat off the Venezuelan coast. President Trump announced the attack had killed 11 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and destroyed a significant quantity of illegal narcotics bound for the United States. The strike was authorized under a March 2025 executive order designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, giving SOCOM authority to use lethal force against vessels suspected of narco-trafficking without traditional law enforcement procedures.