US Conducts Fatal Strike on Alleged Drug Boat Near Venezuela: Escalating Military Actions and Regional Tensions

US forces conducted a strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel off Venezuela's coast on Friday, resulting in four fatalities.

Washington:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that US forces executed a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat near Venezuela's coastline on Friday, resulting in four deaths.

Hegseth revealed this latest military action in a post on X, marking at least the fourth such attack, with the combined death toll now reaching at least 21 individuals.

Accompanying footage displayed a speedboat traversing waves before being consumed by smoke and flames, continuing to burn while remaining afloat.

"Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike," which "was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics -- headed to America to poison our people," stated the Pentagon chief.

"These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!" he added.

This military operation follows the Trump administration's notice to Congress declaring that the United States is engaged in "armed conflict" with drug cartels.

However, Washington has not presented evidence supporting its claims that the targets are drug smugglers, and experts maintain that these summary killings violate international law even if targeting confirmed narcotics traffickers.

The administration's letter, obtained by AFP on Thursday, sought to provide legal justification for at least three previous strikes.

"The president determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States," stated the Pentagon notice, which also characterized suspected smugglers as "unlawful combatants."

A White House official confirmed the notice was submitted to Congress following a September 15 strike, noting that such notification is legally required after any US military attack.

Trump's communications director, Steven Cheung, enthusiastically acknowledged the latest lethal strike, declaring that traffickers and their "deadly drugs have been turned into stardust."

Trump shared the same video as Hegseth on his Truth Social platform, claiming that "a boat loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE was stopped, early this morning off the Coast of Venezuela, from entering American Territory."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a vocal critic of Trump's policy, countered on X that "the narcoterrorists don't go in the boats -- the narcos live in the US, Europe and Dubai."

"There were poor Caribbean youths on that boat," Petro asserted, adding that striking vessels that could instead be intercepted at sea "violates the universal judicial principal of proportionality, and therefore is murder."

These strikes have escalated tensions between the United States and Venezuela, already strained by the deployment of multiple American warships in the region. While Washington maintains their mission is combating drug trafficking, Caracas views them as a threat.

Venezuela reported Thursday it had detected "an illegal incursion" by five US fighter jets near its shores, with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino condemning the alleged flights as a "provocation" and a "threat to our national security."

Last month, Trump dispatched 10 F-35 aircraft to Puerto Rico, a US Caribbean territory, constituting the largest military deployment in the area in over three decades.

Following an incident where two Venezuelan military aircraft buzzed an American naval vessel last month, Trump warned Caracas that any repeated action would result in their jets being shot down.