USA attacked the ship in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela on Friday night according to media reports, but a confirmation of the attack came only on Friday evening when President Trump said that a submarine that smuggled narcotics had been attacked.
We attacked a submarine, and it was a submarine that carried drugs and was built to transport massive amounts of narcotics, said Trump at a press conference in the White House together with Ukraine's visiting president Volodymyr Zelenskyj.
Helicopters searched
Foreign Minister Marco Rubio did not want to comment on whether there were any survivors from the attack. But the American media company NBC News reported on Friday evening that at least two people had been taken into custody and detained after the attack.
Helicopters from the US Navy were sent to the sea off Venezuela when surveillance footage showed that people from the crew had survived the attack, according to NBC.
"Not messing around"
President Trump commented at the same time on the escalating harsh tone between Washington and Caracas. Trump claimed that Venezuela's leader Nícolás Maduro has offered concessions to appease Washington:
He has offered everything, you're right, replied Trump to a question from a reporter about whether Maduro had suggested a de-escalation of the conflict.
You know why? He doesn't want to mess with the USA, said Trump and used a word that had to be censored by American TV companies.
On Wednesday, Trump gave the intelligence agency CIA the green light to carry out secret operations within Venezuela. The decision means a sharp escalation in terms of the US's attempts to put pressure on President Maduro, who Trump accuses of being involved in narcotics smuggling to the USA. Maduro responded by condemning what he claims is a "coup orchestrated by the CIA" and has denied any links to narcotics smuggling.
