By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States killed four people in a strike against a vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs just off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, at least the fourth such attack in recent weeks.
The strike is the latest example of President Donald Trump’s efforts to use U.S. military power in new, and often legally contentious, ways, from deploying active-duty U.S. troops in Los Angeles, to carrying out counter-terrorism strikes against drug trafficking suspects.
Hegseth said Friday’s strike was carried out in international waters and that all of the people killed were men. He said the vessel was transporting “substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people.”
“These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
In a nearly 40-second video shared by Hegseth, a vessel can be seen moving through the water before a web of projectiles fall on the boat and the surrounding water, causing the boat to explode on impact.
Hegseth said, without providing evidence, that the intelligence “without a doubt” confirmed that the vessel was carrying drugs and that the people on board were “narco-terrorists.” He did not disclose the amount or type of the alleged drugs on board the vessel.
Trump, also without providing evidence, said the boat had enough drugs to kill 25,000 to 50,000 people.
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
MILITARY BUILDUP
In the past, counter-drug operations have been generally carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, the main U.S. maritime law enforcement agency, not the U.S. military.
But earlier this week, the Pentagon disclosed to Congress in a notification reviewed by Reuters that Trump has determined the United States is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels. The document aimed to explain the Trump administration’s legal rationale for unleashing U.S. military force in the Caribbean.
Some former military lawyers say the legal explanations given by the Trump administration for killing suspected drug traffickers at sea instead of apprehending them fail to satisfy requirements under the law of war.
Trump has said his administration is also considering attacking drug cartels “coming by land”, actions that could raise further legal questions.
A large U.S. military buildup is taking place in the southern Caribbean. In additional to F-35 aircraft in Puerto Rico, there are eight U.S. warships in the region, carrying thousands of sailors and marines, and one nuclear-powered submarine.
The Trump administration has provided scant information on the previous strikes, including the identities of those killed or details about the cargo.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the U.S. is hoping to drive him from power. Washington in August doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups that Maduro denies.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
