US says it struck three vessels in Pacific

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — An Air National Guard MQ-9 Reaper flies over the Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base, Ohio, March 12, 2024. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Moeger)

WASHINGTON, Dec 15  -  The U.S. Southern Command said on Monday that it carried out strikes on three vessels in international waters, killing eight men.

"Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking," the military said in a post on X.

The United States struck more than 20 vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela as part of a military campaign President Donald Trump has launched on drug smuggling from the region.

At least 90 suspected drug smugglers have been killed in the process.

The use of the military to attack suspected drug vessels marks a stark departure from how the U.S. has historically dealt with them.

The Trump administration has sought to defend the legality of the strikes, which some legal experts have said amount to unlawful extrajudicial killings. 

"Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters earlier this month.

The strikes are viewed as the precursor to U.S. land strikes on Venezuela that Trump has said will soon start. 

 (Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber // REUTERS)