Washington, DC [US], December 16 (ANI): The US military has carried out lethal strikes on three vessels operated by designated terrorist organisations in international waters, killing eight alleged narco-terrorists, US Southern Command said on Tuesday. According to a post by US Southern Command, the strikes were conducted on Monday under the direction of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as part of Operation Southern Spear. The operation was carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear in the Eastern Pacific.

US Southern Command said intelligence confirmed that the three vessels were moving along known narcotics trafficking routes and were actively engaged in narco-trafficking.

'A total of eight male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions, three in the first vessel, two in the second and three in the third,' SOUTHCOM wrote in an X post.

https://x.com/Southcom/status/2000756230252314901?s=20

The latest strikes add to a growing toll from Operation Southern Spear, a campaign launched by the administration of US President Donald Trump to curb drug trafficking in the region. According to previous US military statements, at least 95 people have been killed so far in strikes targeting suspected drug boats since the operation began.

Earlier this month, US forces struck another suspected drug vessel in the Eastern Pacific on December 4, killing four people on board, CNN reported, citing a separate statement from the United States Southern Command.

The campaign has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and legal experts. The Trump administration has informed Congress that the United States is in an 'armed conflict' with drug cartels, which it says began with the first strike on September 2. That day, US forces carried out a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean after an initial attack failed to kill everyone on board, according to earlier CNN reports.

Some Democratic lawmakers and legal analysts have questioned the legality of the strikes, arguing that follow-up attacks could amount to war crimes. The administration has defended its actions by labelling those killed as 'unlawful combatants' and citing a classified Justice Department determination that allows lethal strikes without judicial review.

The military campaign forms part of broader US pressure on Venezuela, including the deployment of thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, as well as repeated warnings directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Last week, the United States also announced fresh sanctions on shipping companies and vessels accused of helping transport Venezuelan oil, a day after US authorities seized a sanctioned tanker off Venezuela's coast, CNN reported. (ANI)