- Trump shares video showing speedboat exploding
- US officials say boat was carrying illegal narcotics
- Strike comes amid increased deployment of warships to Caribbean
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, President Donald Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean.
Trump told reporters at the White House: “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.”
The reference is definitely about nuclear-powered submarines, not nuclear payloads. They specifically say it is a fast attack submarine, so that would be a Virginia-class, which primarily carries Tomahawk cruise missiles, not Trident II ballistic missiles. They are nuclear-capable but not a standard load that would be on a ship already on deployment. That’s what the other type of submarines are for…
The Ohio class, 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and 4 cruise missile submarines (SSGNs), which carry the Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). Those 14 SSBNs form a large backbone of the US nuclear deterrent so they aren’t used for this type of thing. The advantage they have is lurking anywhere on the globe at any time hiding from everyone able to launch a nuclear attack to any point on the globe within minutes. Their entire purpose is pointless if enemies knew where they were, that’s what the Virginia-class are for.