Is the U.S. at war with Venezuela?

HOURS AFTER VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENT NICOLÁS MADURO said the U.S. was trying to provoke a “major war,” President Donald Trump ordered a strike on Sept. 15 targeting a second Venezuelan vessel in international waters, alleging that it carried drugs.

- - BY MIRANDA JEYARETNAM

The strike killed three people. It came less than a month after the U.S. conducted a similar strike on another vessel killing 11 people on Sept. 2. Trump posted on Truth Social: “BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!” Trump had previously directed U.S. Navy ships to the edge of Venezuelan waters, prompting the Caracas government to mobilize militia forces and bringing the two countries to a precarious standoff.