Collateral Murder Video Published in 2025 by President Donald Trump

Collateral Murder Video Published in 2025 by President Donald Trump
Google AI Overview

On September 2, 2025, a video circulated showing a U.S. military airstrike destroying a speedboat in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. The video was released by former President Donald Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Key details from the video and associated reports:
Video footage: The widely shared video, reportedly shot from a drone, shows an aerial view of a multi-engine speedboat moving across the water. The vessel is then struck by a missile or some form of weapon, causing a bright flash, an explosion, and flames.

Location and target: The U.S. government confirmed the strike was conducted by the military in the southern Caribbean. U.S. officials claimed the vessel was a drug boat operated by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.

Casualties: U.S. officials stated that all 11 people aboard the boat were killed.

Context: The strike occurred amid an increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, deployed to pressure the Venezuelan government and combat drug trafficking.

Controversy and debate: The strike drew condemnation from Venezuela, which called it an "illegal massacre". Legal experts and international observers raised questions about the legality of using a military airstrike against an alleged drug boat in international waters, noting that such actions are typically handled by the U.S. Coast Guard. The administration provided little additional evidence to support its claims that the boat was carrying drugs or that its occupants were a threat.

Judge Andrew Napolitano calls the killing without evidence a violation of law and morality.

Google AI Overview

July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike
Invasion

On July 12, 2007, a series of air-to-ground attacks were conducted by a team of two U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, New Baghdad, during the Iraqi insurgency which followed the invasion of Iraq.

The WikiLeaks "Collateral Murder" video, published in 2010 by Julian Assange, showed a 2007 US Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed more than a dozen Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters journalists. Assange's publication of this and other classified documents led to a lengthy legal battle with the US government. This culminated in a June 2024 plea deal that freed him after years of imprisonment.

The "Collateral Murder" video
Source and content: The classified military footage was leaked by US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. The video captured gunsight footage from the helicopter as it fired upon a group of people, including Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and his driver Saeed Chmagh. After a van arrived to rescue the wounded, it was also fired upon, seriously injuring two children inside.

WikiLeaks publication: On April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released the video and accompanying analysis, calling it "Collateral Murder" and sparking global controversy.

Aftermath: The leak triggered a debate about government transparency, war crimes, and the protection of whistleblowers. The US military stated that the attack was within its rules of engagement, but the video drew strong condemnation from human rights organizations.

Julian Assange's legal case
US charges: The US government indicted Assange on 18 counts related to the publication of the video and hundreds of thousands of other classified military and diplomatic documents provided by Manning. The charges included violating the Espionage Act.

Extradition battle: Following his arrest at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2019, Assange spent five years in a high-security UK prison fighting extradition to the US. His lawyers argued that the charges were politically motivated and that he was protected under press freedom rights.

2024 plea deal: In June 2024, Assange reached a plea agreement with the US Justice Department. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defense documents in a court in Saipan.

Release: The deal allowed for a sentence of "time served," ending the lengthy legal proceedings. He was released from prison in London and flew to his home country of Australia as a free man.

Join the Weekly Video Call
Call 305-333-1925