(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has defended recent military strikes on vessels allegedly operated by drug cartels off the coast of Venezuela, describing the actions as “an act of kindness” that helped save American lives.

Since September, the US has destroyed at least four boats in international waters, as Trump continues to accuse Venezuela’s left-wing government of enabling “narco-terrorists” to smuggle drugs into the United States.

Speaking at the US Navy’s 250th anniversary ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday, Trump praised the military for helping “to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water.”

“It’s a pretty tough thing we’ve been doing, but you have to think of it this way. Every one of those boats is responsible for the death of 25,000 American people and the destruction of families,” he said. “So when you think of it that way, what we are doing is actually an act of kindness.”

Trump claimed the strikes disrupted a key maritime route used for trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics. “Nobody wants to go into the water anymore,” he added.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected the allegations, insisting his government has “eliminated all major trafficking networks and vanquished prominent gangs.”

He accused the US of using anti-cartel operations as a pretext to try to overthrow his government and gain control of Venezuela’s natural resources.

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