# Mass murder on the high seas (Venezuelan "drug boat") **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 10, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910 "2025-09-10T13:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/21 "2025-09-10T17:44:33Z")
**As long as we’re blowing up drug boats, I have a question: How many billionaire yachts do you suppose have a bunch of illegal drugs on them? Hey, I’m just asking questions.** [Full disclosure: I copied that from elsewhere.] ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/22 "2025-09-10T18:02:07Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > True, legally piracy is an act comminted by private individuals, not a government. War Crime it is. Quoth the Pirate King: > When I sally forth to seek my prey > > I help myself in a royal way. > > I sink a few more ships, it’s true, > > Than a well-bred monarch ought to do; > > But many a king on a first-class throne, > > If he wants to call his crown his own, > > Must manage somehow to get through > > More dirty work than ever **I** do! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/23 "2025-09-10T18:03:04Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Maybe it started out trump to Kegbreath. He’d probably be thrilled to be part of that. Donald Trump probably wasn’t even specifically aware of this before it happened. This almost certainly started at the Secretary of Defense level with an order to interdict and destroy boats coming for Venezuela, and the kill chain of the specific order may have not even gone to him. Regardless, nobody will be held to account for this just as there were no proceedings regarding the extrajudicial killing of US citizens. Powerful governments and their leaders [have different rules than everyone else](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs). > **[Pentagon Official: Trump Boat Strike Was a Criminal Attack on Civilians](https://theintercept.com/2025/09/05/pentagon-official-trump-boat-strike-was-a-criminal-attack-on-civilians/)** > > A current DoD official and many military legal experts say the U.S. attack on a boat in the Caribbean near Venezuela broke international law. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/24 "2025-09-10T18:03:38Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > eleven people to deliver drugs makes no sense Yeah this stood out to me. Like, it wouldn’t make it ok if it was actually a drug smuggling vessel, but it’s a massive indictment of the media that none of them actually did their job over this. There is a huge hole in the administration’s justification for murdering 11 people, and I’ve not heard any journalist press them on this. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/25 "2025-09-10T18:05:45Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Donald Trump probably wasn’t even specifically aware of this before it happened Bullshit. He wanted to kill people. And Kegbreath had the military find the easiest vaguely justifiable target to satisfy Trump’s blood lust. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/26 "2025-09-10T18:07:20Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > This almost certainly started at the Secretary of Defense level with an order to interdict and destroy boats coming for Venezuela, and the kill chain of the specific order may have not even gone to him. “Will no one rid me of this turbulent boat?” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/27 "2025-09-10T18:08:32Z")
Congratulations, Mr President! We killed 11 people in your name! Were they drug smugglers? That’s what we’re sayin’! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/28 "2025-09-10T18:09:54Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Bullshit. He wanted to kill people. And Kegbreath had the military find the easiest vaguely justifiable target to satisfy Trump’s blood lust. Oh, I’m sure Trump expressed the desire for something like this, and he’s blithely celebrated the result. I just doubt he was actually in the kill chain for this specific action, i.e. that he gave the specific order to fire upon the boat. He just doesn’t have the patience or attention span to sit around while the Navy located a plausible target to shoot at. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/29 "2025-09-10T18:15:42Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I just doubt he was actually in the kill chain for this specific action I’m sure he was. Where’s the fun in it if doesn’t get to explicitly use the authority of Commander in Chief to kill some brown people? He wanted to kill some people. Kegbreath followed his orders (which at their absolutely most detailed was something like “I want to kill some Venezuelan fentanyl smugglers like that guy who beat us in the supreme court”). And came back with this random boat in the Caribbean. Trump took great pleasure in saying “Very good. Yes, I order you to kill those specific people” and watching it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/30 "2025-09-10T20:01:01Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > As far as I can tell from the murky info that has been released, this was an act of piracy by the US Navy. Were they granted letters of marque? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/31 "2025-09-10T20:16:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Were they granted letters of marque? “Letters of marque” have not been generally recognized as legal implements since then Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, notwithstanding that this wasn’t action by a privateer but by the formal military forces of the US Navy. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/32 "2025-09-10T20:17:44Z")
Not sure Cad was serious 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/33 "2025-09-10T20:17:45Z")
I am aware of that. It was a play on calling it “piracy”. ---
**Author:** ![deltogre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deltogre/32/5041_2.png) [@deltogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltogre)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/34 "2025-09-10T20:52:42Z")
Assuming the video is real, and I do assume it is… 1. They murdered 11 people. 2. They don’t even know who they were. 3. All of you are people. 4. They don’t know who YOU are, either. 5. They can make up “reasons.” It’s still murder. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/35 "2025-09-11T02:27:20Z")
Mary talks about it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-h-Bv1R1a3Q/maxresdefault.jpg "LIVE: Mary Trump RESPONDS to BREAKING NEWS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h-Bv1R1a3Q) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/36 "2025-09-11T02:46:00Z")
Talks about what? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/37 "2025-09-11T02:59:27Z")
The subject of the thread. Murder. What else would it be about? I thought it would start at the relevant part. It starts at 13:45 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/38 "2025-09-23T15:56:43Z")
Do these people realize they just made every US military vessel a legit target? For everyone? ”I recognized a pirate vessel” That you are, in actual fact, a rogue nation, a terror state? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/39 "2025-09-23T16:05:07Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Do these people realize they just made every US military vessel a legit target? Anything vaguely connected to the US is liable to be harrassed/ shot at. We’re up to three boats now. International mass murderers should at least not be speaking before the UN. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910/40 "2025-10-17T21:18:56Z")
[Trump’s ‘Cartel Boat’ Bombing Leaves Survivors for the First Time](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-s-cartel-boat-bombing-leaves-survivors-for-the-first-time/ar-AA1OGbcA) > For the first time since President Donald Trump green-lit a string of lethal strikes on suspected Venezuelan cartel boats, survivors have emerged from the wreckage. Two men were pulled from the Caribbean after a U.S. operation blasted their vessel on Thursday. Until now, these missions were one-way trips to the bottom of the sea, with at least five prior attacks leaving more than two dozen dead. The Navy is now holding the rescued men aboard a U.S. warship, according to multiple officials familiar with the operation. > Politically, the timing could not be worse for the White House. Trump has publicly boasted about the missions, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed the administration has “every authorization needed.” But the emergence of survivors threatens to unravel the narrative of clean, surgical strikes. If these men start talking about who hired them, what they were carrying, or where they were headed, the story could quickly shift. For now, one thing is certain, this covert campaign just became a lot harder to explain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-murder-on-the-high-seas-venezuelan-drug-boat/1022910.md?page=3)