Venezuela Disputes US Claim on Boat Strike That Killed 11

Venezuela says none of the 11 people killed in last week's US military boat strike in the Caribbean were members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang—despite US assertions to the contrary. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on state TV that local investigations found no link to the Venezuelan gang or to drug trafficking among the deceased, Reuters reports. Cabello criticized US authorities for using lethal force rather than arrests, calling the incident "a murder ... committed against a group of citizens." He asked how US forces identified the people aboard the boat as gang members, sarcastically wondering if they had a "chip" or a "QR code" scanned by the US military, the Guardian reports.

The Trump administration insists the boat was ferrying narcotics, but has offered little detail, instead doubling down on claims that those killed were "evil Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists." White House spokesperson Anna Kelly dismissed Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro—who announced Thursday a new deployment of the country's military, police, and civilian defenses and said Venezuela is "ready for an armed fight" if necessary—as a "fugitive" and not the country's legitimate leader, while the Pentagon has so far stayed silent on Venezuela's response to the strike. Meanwhile, sources tell CBS News the boat was turning around when it was hit, having attempted to turn back after people onboard saw military aircraft.