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US forces have fatally struck four people in an strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela that was purportedly trafficking drugs, as stated by military leadership statements.

"The strike was conducted in international waters just adjacent to Venezuela while the ship was moving substantial amounts of illegal substances - destined for America to poison our people," officials declared in a government release.

This marks the most recent in a sequence of lethal attacks that the US has conducted on vessels in open seas it claims are engaged in "narco-trafficking".

The military actions have received criticism in nations like Venezuela and Colombia, with several international lawyers labeling the attacks as a violation of international law.

Operational Details

Military officials stated the operation took place in the US Southern Command's operational zone, which includes most of South America and the Caribbean.

"Our intelligence, unquestionably, confirmed that this vessel was transporting drugs, the people on the vessel were narcotics criminals, and they were using a established narcotics transportation transit route," military leaders declared about this latest strike.

"These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are eliminated!!!!"

US President additionally verified the operation on social media, saying that the ship was containing sufficient drugs "to fatally harm 25 to 50 thousand individuals".

Controversial Aspects

However, the US has not provided proof for its claims or any details about the backgrounds of those present on the ship.

There was no prompt reaction from Venezuela but its head of state has before now condemned the attacks and stated his state will guard against in response to US "aggression".

Friday's lethal operation is the fourth by the US in a recent timeframe.

Before this, authorities had announced that 11 people had been killed in a strike against a narcotics-transporting ship in the southern Caribbean at the beginning of September.

Afterward in the period, two distinct strikes within days of each other resulted in the deaths of a total of six individuals.

Policy Background

This in the past week, a confidential communication delivered to Congress – documented by journalistic sources – indicated the US federal authorities had now concluded it was in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels.

This is important because the administration is obligated by legislation to inform Congress if it will employ the military, which suggests it intends to use more armed intervention.

The US has positioned its operations on alleged narcotics vessels as self-protection, notwithstanding many legal experts challenging their juridical validity.

Characterizing this as an ongoing military confrontation is presumably a method to defend using heightened wartime powers – for example neutralizing "adversaries" even if they have not presented a immediate danger, or imprisoning people for unlimited periods.

These constitute similar powers to those applied to previous groups in earlier military situations.

Federal authorities have failed to supply the justification for why they seem to be categorizing drug trafficking and associated illegal activities as an "military assault", or specified which cartels they consider are attacking the US.

Government representatives have previously categorized many groups, like those in Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, as extremist groups – providing US agencies increased capabilities in their reaction to them.