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People on board<\/span> the boat off the coast of Venezuela that was destroyed by the U.S. military last Tuesday were said to have survived an initial strike, according to two American officials familiar with the matter.\u00a0They were then killed shortly after in a follow-up attack.<\/p>\n The boat was under U.S. surveillance for a significant period of time.\u00a0Those on board apparently spotted the U.S. aerial assets and altered the vessel\u2019s course.\u00a0U.S. officials said the boat appeared to have turned back toward shore, after which it was subjected to multiple strikes.\u00a0Three sources, including Sen. Rand Paul, said the boat was attacked by one or more drones<\/a>.<\/p>\n A very small number of Senate and House staffers separately received highly classified briefings about the attack on Tuesday.\u00a0No senators or House members were in attendance, people familiar with the briefings told The Intercept.<\/p>\n Two officials familiar with the strike were left with the impression that more attacks in the Caribbean would be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Multiple sources say that Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, conducted the lethal operation. This is considered highly unusual given all the other military assets based in the region.<\/p>\n Col. Allie Weiskopf, SOCOM\u2019s director of public affairs, would not comment on the command\u2019s involvement in the attack. \u201cWe don\u2019t have anything for you,\u201d she told The Intercept.<\/p>\n In response to questions from The Intercept, Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell sent this statement: \u201cNarco-terrorists who poison the American people will find no safe harbor in international waters or anywhere in our hemisphere. This strike sent a clear message: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, the United States military will use every tool at our disposal to stop you cold.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/span> said he authorized the attack and\u00a0posted an edited video<\/a>\u00a0to social media last week showing a four-engine speedboat cutting through the water with numerous people on board. An explosion then destroys the boat. Trump said the strike killed 11 people whom he characterized as \u201cnarcoterrorists.\u201d The administration has offered no evidence to support these assertions.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio also made clear that the U.S. could have halted the ship and arrested the crew but chose to kill them instead. \u201cInstead of interdicting it, on the president\u2019s orders, we blew it up \u2014 and it\u2019ll happen again,\u201d he boasted<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n