The US military struck another alleged narcotics vessel off the coast of Venezuela Friday, killing four, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
The strike — at least the fourth such attack — brings the total number of alleged smugglers killed by the US in recent weeks to at least 18.
Hegseth wrote on X that he directed the lethal strike, carried out in international waters, on a “vessel transporting substantial amounts of narcotics — headed to America to poison our people.”
It came after the White House informed Congress this week that the country was engaged in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, which the administration has designated as terrorist organizations, The New York Times reported.
The strikes have raised tensions with Caracas, which fears a full-scale invasion, as President Donald Trump reportedly weighs strikes inside the country.
Critics have questioned the legality of the campaign, with one commentator accusing Trump of emulating “the worst excesses” of US policy in Latin America.