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Venezuela begins military drills after US boat strikes
The Independent
|September 19, 2025
Venezuela says it has launched three days of large-scale military exercises in the Caribbean after several US attacks on alleged drug trafficking boats.
Defence minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said the exercise, named Sovereign Caribbean, would involve air defence deployments with armed drones and “electronic warfare actions” in response to the “threatening, vulgar voice” of the US.
Venezuela’s defence ministry said the exercises would involve 12 ships, 22 aircraft and 20 small boats from the “special naval militia”. They will take place on La Orchila island, where the South American country has a military base.
US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a second “kinetic” strike had been carried out on a small boat that he claimed was carrying drugs to the US from Venezuela.
“The strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in international waters transporting illegal narcotics ... headed to the US,” he wrote.
This story is from the September 19, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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