The Preamble

The Preamble

What Was Blown Up in the Caribbean Wasn't Just a Boat

Elise Labott's avatar
Elise Labott
Sep 08, 2025
∙ Paid

The explosion lit up the Caribbean night just off the Venezuelan coast. A 30-foot go-fast boat suspected of ferrying cocaine and fentanyl precursors toward American shores erupted into flames under US Navy fire. According to American officials, the vessel carried members of Tren de Aragua — a violent Venezuelan gang that has grown into a regional crimin…

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Elise Labott
Global affairs journalist. I write Cosmopolitics on Substack.
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