UPDATE - Trump says US military carried out strike on 'Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists'

ADDS STATEMENT FROM VENEZUELA

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American military forces carried out a strike on a boat being operated by the Tren de Aragua (TDA) transnational criminal organization, killing 11 people.

"TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere," Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social, referring to the Venezuelan president.

"Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!" he added.

Trump included a video that appears to show the US military hitting the boat with a munition, prompting it to explode into a fireball.

Venezuelan Communications Minister Freddy Nanez cast doubt on the authenticity of the video, however.

“Based on the video provided, it is very likely that it was created using Artificial Intelligence,” he wrote on his Telegram account.

Tensions between the Trump administration and Maduro have recently escalated after the US deployed a naval group to the southern Caribbean. The US claims the force is there to combat criminal cartels and drug trafficking.

The deployment of forces to the region followed an increased reward of $50 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest.

"They're trying to demonize me," Maduro said at a news conference Monday. "We're not going to accept anyone applying their model to us."

"We have declared Venezuela's maximum preparedness: in response to maximum pressure, maximum preparedness," he added.

Addressing Trump directly, Maduro warned that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as Trump's national security advisor, "wants to fill his hands with blood -- Caribbean and Latin blood."