US President Donald Trump’s administration has confirmed another strike on a ‘drug-trafficking vessel’ headed to the country in the waters off Venezuela, killing four people on board.
This is the fourth such strike where US forces have targeted vessels allegedly belonging to the infamous Cartel de Sóles in the Caribbean waters.
Trump’s post on Truth Social on Friday night said: “A boat loaded with drugs was stopped off the coast of Venezuela. A video of a moving boat accompanied the message engulfed in flames after an explosion.”
US Defence Secretary, now ‘Secretary of War’, Pete Hegseth, also wrote on his social media post that four male “narco-terrorists” aboard a “narco-trafficking vessel” affiliated with designated terrorist organisations were killed in the strike in international waters.
He said, “Strikes will continue until the attacks on the US citizens are over!!!”
Trump told the US Congress that the country is in direct conflict with drug cartels.
US forces have killed a total of 21 people since Trump ordered the deployment of US warships and nuclear submarine in the waters near Venezuela in an attempt to prevent drugs from reaching US mainland.
Also Read: US considering strikes on Venezuela
While US defence forces continue their attacks, some lawmakers have raised questions over the legality of these attacks.
Trump’s administration justifies the lethal strikes by US forces without due legal process as a fight against drugs and labels the crew of boats allegedly carrying drugs ‘combatants’.
Venezuela’s Maduro government has strongly criticised the attacks, saying the US is killing civilians under the guise of targeting drug cartels.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas have surged in recent days, after US and Venezuelan jets flew over marked territories.
Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro Moros, accused the US of forcing a regime change in his country, saying there are chances the US launches a surprise attack to take control of Venezuela’s vast natural resources.
Analysts say a war between the two countries is imminent. Perhaps the only thing stopping Washington for the time being is the US administration being currently focused on settling the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.
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