11 Venezuelans Killed by U.S. Strike Weren’t Tren de Aragua Members

None of the 11 people killed in a U.S. military strike on a boat in the Caribbean last week were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, Venezuela’s interior minister said, as the government deployed troops amid heightened tensions with Washington, Philip Stewart reported for Reuters.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the vessel was carrying illegal narcotics, but video footage showed no cargo on board. The Pentagon has produced no evidence to support Trump’s assertions, even as members of Congress demand justification for what they call illegal military action.

“They openly confessed to killing 11 people,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television.

“We have done our investigations here, and families of the disappeared want their relatives. When we asked in the towns, none were from Tren de Aragua. None were drug traffickers.”

“A murder has been committed against a group of citizens using lethal force,” Cabello added, questioning why the U.S. had not simply detained the passengers.

The Venezuelan government also claimed a video of the strike posted by Trump was artificially generated, calling it “AI—just like what Trump has in his head.”

President Nicolás Maduro announced that the country would deploy military, police, and civilian defenses at 284 “battlefront” locations nationwide, his latest display of military readiness.