Caribbean, October 4(HS): A United States military operation targeting an alleged narcotics vessel near Venezuela’s coast has left four people dead, marking the latest in a series of lethal strikes by American forces in the southern Caribbean.

The attack, described by US officials as a counter-narcotics action, was executed in international waters and linked by American authorities to a known drug trafficking route.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted that the vessel was transporting substantial quantities of narcotics bound for the United States, calling its occupants “narco-terrorists” and warning that such operations would continue “until the attacks on the American people are over”.

President Donald Trump echoed the claim on social media, declaring the intercepted drugs sufficient to potentially kill tens of thousands. However, Washington has not released evidence identifying those on board or publicly corroborated its assertions about the cargo or crew.

The strike, which occurred in the US Southern Command’s area of responsibility, drew swift criticism from regional governments and some international legal experts, who argue that unilateral military action in international waters is a breach of international law.

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, who has previously condemned similar incidents, has not made an immediate public statement about Friday’s raid but has vowed to defend his country against what he called US “aggression”.

US Expands Legal Rationale for Military Action

The incident signals a significant escalation in US strategy: leaked documents reveal that Washington has now formally classified its confrontation with drug cartels as a “non-international armed conflict,” a designation typically reserved for wars against non-state armed groups such as terrorist organizations. This move, first reported in a US media leak, would oblige the administration to notify Congress of military action and may extend broad wartime authorities, including lethal force against suspected traffickers, even absent an immediate threat.

President Trump has already designated several cartels across the Americas as terrorist organizations, but has yet to specify which groups he believes are “attacking” the United States or clarify the legal basis for treating drug trafficking as an armed attack.

The policy shift echoes tactics used against al-Qaeda after 2001, raising concerns among legal scholars about the risk of prolonged, extrajudicial military campaigns far from US shores.

Regional and International Tensions Rise

Friday’s strike is the fourth such lethal operation by US forces in the past month, with nearly two dozen fatalities reported since early September.

The approach has deepened friction with South American governments, some of whom accuse Washington of violating their sovereignty and destabilizing the region.

As the Trump administration signals its intent to intensify military measures against drug trafficking networks, the international legal and political fallout from this new phase of “narco-war” is likely to grow—even as the humanitarian and diplomatic consequences remain uncertain.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar