US strike on suspected Venezuelan drug boat kills six in Caribbean

Washington launched a campaign in September against suspected drug boats, deploying jets and Navy ships

An overnight US strike on a boat alleged to be operated by a Venezuelan drug trafficking gang killed six people in the Caribbean Sea, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday.

The latest military action brings the total number of US strikes on alleged traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to at least 10, leaving at least 43 people dead, according to an AFP tally based on US figures.

Hegseth announced the strike in a post on X showing a stationary boat with outboard engines being destroyed in an explosion, saying: "Six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters -- and was the first strike at night."

"All six terrorists were killed," Hegseth said, adding: "If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you."

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Washington began carrying out a military campaign targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats in early September, deploying forces including stealth warplanes and Navy ships to the region, but has yet to release evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics.

"Under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a measure of last resort against an individual representing an imminent threat to life," UN rights office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado Gomez told AFP Friday, when asked to comment on the strikes.

"Otherwise, it would constitute a violation of the right to life," she said, adding: "Generally speaking, no one should be killed for drug-related offenses."

Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign, with Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who said earlier this week that his country has 5,000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to counter US forces.

On Thursday, at least one US B-1B bomber flew over the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, flight tracking data showed.

That followed a show of force by multiple US B-52 bombers that circled off Venezuela's coast last week.