President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. has carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, AP reported. 

Trump said in a social media posting that 11 people were killed in the rare U.S. military operation in the Americas, a dramatic escalation in the Republican administration’s effort to stem the flow of narcotics from Latin America. Trump also posted a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.

The operation came after the U.S. announced plans last month to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels.

President Nicolás Maduro’s government has responded by deploying troops along Venezuela’s coast and border with neighboring Colombia, as well as by urging Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia.

Maduro has insisted that the U.S. is building a false drug-trafficking narrative to try to force him out of office. He told reporters on Monday he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if his country were attacked by U.S. forces deployed to the Caribbean.