US strike destroys alleged drug boat, kills 4 suspects

THE US military has destroyed another alleged drug vessel in the southern Caribbean Sea.

In a post on X, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he directed the strike on an alleged narco-trafficking vessel, allegedly affiliated with a designated terrorist organisation in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela.

"Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no US forces were harmed in the operation."

Hegseth claimed, "Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route."

He said, "These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over."

Similar strikes on alleged drug vessels have happened in this area since a US military deployment began last August in the southern Caribbean Sea, just outside of Venezuela's territorial waters.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has expressed support for the deployment and the strikes.

The legality of the strikes have been questioned in international circles.