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United States armed forces have killed four individuals in an operation on a vessel in waters close to Venezuela that was reportedly carrying illegal substances, according to military leadership announcements.

"This operation was executed in international waters just adjacent to Venezuela while the vessel was transporting large volumes of drugs - destined for America to poison our people," officials stated in a public statement.

This marks the latest in a series of fatal military operations that the US has conducted on boats in open seas it claims are involved in "drug smuggling".

The military actions have drawn condemnation in states such as Venezuela and Colombia, with various international lawyers describing the strikes as a infringement of global legal standards.

Mission Information

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

"Our intelligence, unquestionably, verified that this ship was trafficking narcotics, the individuals on the vessel were narcotics criminals, and they were using a recognized drug smuggling transit route," authorities announced about Friday's operation.

"Such operations will proceed until the attacks on the American people are eliminated!!!!"

The President furthermore acknowledged the strike on digital platforms, claiming that the boat was carrying adequate drugs "to fatally harm 25 to 50 thousand persons".

Debate and Dispute

However, the US has not provided evidence for its assertions or any particulars about the identities of those present on the ship.

There was no immediate response from Venezuela but its head of state has earlier denounced the attacks and declared his nation will guard against in response to US "hostile actions".

Friday's deadly strike is the fourth instance by the US in a recent timeframe.

Earlier, military leaders had confirmed that eleven individuals had been killed in a operation against a illegal substances-bearing boat in the southern Caribbean at the commencement of September.

Subsequently in the timeframe, two separate strikes separated by a short interval killed a total of six persons.

Legal Framework

This recently, a leaked memo provided to Congress – covered by media outlets – stated the US administration had now concluded it was in a "domestic warfare situation" with trafficking groups.

This is notable because the executive branch is mandated by legislation to report to Congress if it will employ the defense establishment, which implies it intends to use further armed intervention.

The US has presented its operations on alleged drug boats as national security measures, notwithstanding many legal experts questioning their lawfulness.

Framing this as an active armed conflict is probably a way to justify using escalated wartime powers – for example eliminating "combatants" even if they have not posed a immediate danger, or imprisoning people for unlimited periods.

These represent comparable privileges to those applied to previous groups in earlier military situations.

Administration representatives have not provided the reasoning for why they give the impression of classifying narcotics smuggling and associated crimes as an "combat situation", or named which cartels they think are attacking the US.

Authorities have already classified many cartels, like those in Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, as extremist groups – providing US officials increased capabilities in their reaction to them.