Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference in Caracas on September 15, 2025. Photo: VCG

 
US President Donald Trump announced Monday the US military has carried out a second deadly strike on alleged Venezuelan "narcoterrorists" in international waters, amid escalating tensions between the two countries after a previous attack on September 2, media reported.

Trump said in a post on social media that the latest strike killed three people whom he accused of transporting illicit drugs to the US via international waters and released a video that appeared to show a strike on a boat. China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

Earlier on Monday before the post, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that channels of communication between the US and Venezuela have been severed by Washington amid "persistent aggression," the Xinhua News Agency reported

"Today I can announce that communications with the US government have been severed by them," Maduro told a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. The president blamed the breakdown on "threats and blackmail" from Washington. 

According to CCTV, Maduro said the US, using a large number of lies and narratives, wants to justify an escalation and impose colonial authorities in Venezuela.

The US threat against Venezuela is not aimed at fighting drug trafficking, but rather at regime change to seize wealth. It would be a war to seize Venezuela, oil, gas, gold, all natural wealth, Maduro told the press conference, per CCTV.

Under the excuse of cracking down on drug cartels in Latin America, the US deployed warships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean and waters off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks. Venezuela recently said that a US destroyer illegally intercepted, boarded and detained a Venezuelan fishing boat in the country's EEZ, according to media reports. 

Commenting on the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that recently, in the name of combating drug trafficking, the US has deployed forces in the waters of the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela, and claimed to have sunk a Venezuelan vessel, shot dead sailors, and intercepted and detained a Venezuelan fishing boat, resulting in continued tensions in the region. The US' moves threaten regional peace and security, severely infringe upon other countries' sovereignty, security and lawful rights and interests, and seriously violate international law.

China supports the effort of cracking down on transnational crimes through stronger international cooperation, opposes the unilateral abuse of force and is against external interference in Venezuela's internal affairs under any pretext. We urge the US to stop undermining countries' safety of navigation and their freedoms and rights enjoyed under international law, and stop disrupting regional peace and stability under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, Lin said.

Global Times