8 killed as US forces strike 5 other vessels amid tensions with Venezuela
Tehran - BORNA - US Southern Command said on Wednesday it struck five alleged drug-smuggling vessels over two days, killing eight people.
The command did not disclose the exact locations of the strikes carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. Previous attacks have taken place in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
According to Southern Command, three boats were targeted on Tuesday while traveling together along what it described as known narcotics routes. It released a video showing the boats moving in close formation before explosions hit them.
The US has not provided independently verified evidence to support its claims. The authenticity and context of the video have not been independently verified.
The command said three people were killed when the first vessel was struck. Those aboard the other two boats jumped into the water before follow-up strikes sank the vessel. Southern Command claimed it had notified the Coast Guard to activate search and rescue operations, but it remains unclear whether any survivors were recovered.
Hours later, the military announced strikes on two more vessels on Wednesday, killing five additional people.
Since September, the US military has carried out more than 30 such strikes, with a reported death toll of at least 115.
Rights groups and international law experts say the operations amount to extrajudicial killings, noting that those targeted appear to be civilians posing no immediate threat to the United States.
The strikes come amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean, described as unprecedented in decades.
Analysts say the show of force reflects a broader pattern of interventionist policy in Latin America, often justified through security narratives but carrying serious legal and humanitarian consequences.
The Trump administration and senior military officials have faced growing criticism over earlier attacks in which survivors were also killed.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth came under pressure over the deadly strikes staged during the American military campaign in the Caribbean.
Many lawmakers see the US military aggression in Latin America and the surrounding waters in the region as war crimes.
They are seen as a pretext for "regime change" in Latin American countries.
The latest strikes coincide with increased US pressure on Venezuela. Washington has accused President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel, an allegation his government strongly rejected.
Maduro has warned that Venezuela will defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying the United States cannot turn Bolivarian nations into colonies or exploit their natural resources.
He urged Washington on Saturday to abandon the failed "regime change" plots that the White House has been trying to implement in his country for the past 25 years.
He said to American politicians ready to engage in respectful dialogue, “We will always find here a president who represents his people, to reach out, to seek paths to peace, cooperation, and prosperity.”
End Article