The United States began carrying out such attacks (which some experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even when targeting known traffickers) targeting ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean in early September. More than 70 people have been killed in strikes so far.
“Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic attacks were carried out against two vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations,” Hegseth said, the Guardian reported.
In a social media post about X, he added, “Both attacks took place in international waters, with three male narco-terrorists on board each ship. All six were killed. No U.S. military was harmed. Under President Trump, we are defending our homeland and killing cartel terrorists who seek to harm our country and its people.”
“These vessels were transporting narcotics and were traveling along known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that our intelligence indicates are involved in illegal drug smuggling,” Hegseth said.
However, the U.S. government has not yet released any concrete evidence that the targets were drug smugglers or posed a threat to the United States.
The UN human rights chief said US airstrikes against suspected drug traffickers were unacceptable and violated international human rights law. Venezuela claims these are illegal, amount to murder and constitute an invasion of a sovereign South American nation, the report added.
Master’s degree/PR