U.S. attack on drug ship near Venezuela results in six deaths

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States launched another attack, this time against a small vessel suspected of drug trafficking in waters near Venezuela, resulting in the deaths of six people.

In a social media statement, the Republican president confirmed that the fatalities occurred aboard the boat and that no U.S. forces were injured. This is the fifth lethal attack in the Caribbean, part of a pattern where the Trump administration maintains it is treating alleged drug smugglers as unlawful combatants subject to military action.

Trump asserted that the strike took place in international waters and was based on "Intelligence" confirming the vessel was carrying drugs, linked to "narcoterrorist networks," and operating on an established trafficking route.

The Associated Press's request to the Pentagon for additional details on the latest boat strike received no immediate reply.

Political and Legal Response

Bipartisan exasperation with the Trump administration is mounting in Congress. Several Republicans are demanding further information from the White House regarding the legal rationale and specific facts of the strikes. Meanwhile, Democrats argue the attacks constitute a breach of both domestic and international law.

Last week, a war powers resolution in the Senate, which aimed to prohibit the Trump administration from carrying out these strikes without explicit Congressional authorization, was put to a vote but did not pass.

The Trump administration formally communicated its legal position to Congress in a memo, stating that it had concluded the United States is engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with these officially designated terrorist groups. Consequently, Trump directed the Pentagon to "conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict."

These strikes occurred amid an unprecedented buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean.

Venezuelan Accusation

Last week, Vladimir Padrino, the Venezuelan Defense Minister, informed military leaders that the U.S. government is fully aware the drug-trafficking allegations used to justify the recent Caribbean actions are baseless. He claimed the actual goal is to "force a regime change" in the South American country.

Padrino further stated that the Venezuelan government views the presence of the U.S. warships as more than just a "propaganda-like action," and he issued a warning of a possible escalation.