US Defense Secretary Pete Hyseth on Wednesday stated that Washington sent a “clear” message to the cartels through the strike that reportedly killed 11 people aboard a boat smuggling drugs into the United States.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the US military targeted a drug-carrying boat in international waters in the Caribbean, resulting in the death of 11 “drug terrorists” from the Venezuelan criminal cartel “Tren de Aragua,” which Washington classifies as a “terrorist organization.”

Speaking to Fox News, the Defense Secretary said, “Do you want to engage in drug trafficking? Times have changed. We are in a new era. The 11 drug traffickers are no longer with us, sending a very clear message: the United States will not tolerate this kind of activity” in the Americas.

Hyseth refused to provide details on how the strike was carried out but said he directly supervised it.

He added, “We knew exactly who was on the boat. We knew exactly what they were doing and who they represented: it was the Tren de Aragua gang,” active in several countries.

This came after the US deployed seven warships in the Caribbean Sea and others in the Pacific Ocean, affirming its determination to combat international drug trafficking.

Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug trafficking network known as the “Cartel of the Sun.”

Meanwhile, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Tuesday considered that the real goal of the US troop deployment is “intimidation and an attempt to overthrow governments.”

When asked on Wednesday if the US seeks to change the regime in Venezuela, Pete Hyseth replied, “That decision belongs to the President, and we are ready with all available resources of the US military.”