The United States has significantly escalated its policy of treating organized crime groups as terrorists with a lethal missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean.

President Donald Trump announced on September 2 that a military strike against a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the southern Caribbean had killed 11 alleged traffickers. 

A grainy video released by officials appears to show several people on a boat traveling in open water before the vessel explodes in flames.

The strike comes as part of a broader military campaign aimed at cutting off drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and intimidating Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

5 Things to Know About Trump’s Missile Strike in the Caribbean | Written by Mike LaSusa and read by Daniel Reyes.

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