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Cuban-American congress members applauded this Tuesday the U.S. military action against a drug-laden ship that departed from Venezuela and was attacked in the southern Caribbean.
The legislator María Elvira Salazar celebrated on X: “Bravo Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. Zero tolerance for terrorists, traffickers, and gang members. Let this be a lesson for all the bullies in the world: their days of undermining the U.S. and flooding our streets with drugs and crime are over.”
For his part, Mario Díaz-Balart also wrote on X: “God bless our troops” in support of the American forces that participated in the operation.
Meanwhile, Congressman Carlos Giménez expressed his gratitude on the same social media platform directly to the president and the secretary of state: “Thank you for taking decisive action against the narco-terrorist networks operating from Venezuela. Dictator Maduro and his cartel regime continue to poison our communities with deadly drugs. We must maintain the pressure until we annihilate the cartels.”
The backdrop of the reactions was the announcement by President Donald Trump, who reported from the White House that U.S. military forces carried out a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a vessel transporting "a large quantity of drugs."
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, confirmed the event moments later on X: “As the president just announced a little while ago, today the U.S. military carried out a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-laden ship that had set sail from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narcoterrorist organization.”
The operation was framed within Washington's "zero tolerance" policy against international drug trafficking and the criminal networks linked to Nicolás Maduro's regime.
Frequently asked questions about the U.S. military action against a drug boat from Venezuela
Why was the drug-laden ship coming from Venezuela attacked?
The ship was attacked by military forces from the United States as part of its "zero tolerance" policy against international drug trafficking. U.S. authorities claimed that the vessel was operated by an organization designated as a "narcoterrorist" group that had departed from Venezuela, which justified the attack in the southern Caribbean.
What reactions did the attack generate in the Cuban-American community?
Cuban-American congresspeople such as María Elvira Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart, and Carlos Giménez applauded the military action by the United States. They expressed their support on social media, emphasizing the importance of maintaining pressure on the regime of Nicolás Maduro and the drug trafficking networks that operate in Venezuela. They regarded the operation as a decisive blow against the illegal activities that impact their communities.
How has this military action impacted relations between the United States and Venezuela?
The attack has heightened tensions between both countries. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro condemned the attack as an unprecedented threat and accused the United States of driving towards an unavoidable confrontation. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan opposition deemed the moment crucial for political transition in the country, with direct implications for regional allies such as Cuba.
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