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United States armed forces have killed four individuals in an attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela that was allegedly carrying illegal substances, per military leadership statements.

"The strike was executed in international waters just adjacent to Venezuela while the ship was transporting significant quantities of drugs - headed to America to poison our people," officials announced in a official communication.

This marks the latest in a sequence of recent deadly strikes that the US has carried out on vessels in global maritime zones it states are engaged in "narcotics transportation".

The strikes have received criticism in countries like Venezuela and Colombia, with some jurisprudence specialists describing the strikes as a infringement of international law.

Mission Information

Defense authorities confirmed the strike occurred in the US naval force's jurisdictional territory, which covers the majority of South America and the Caribbean.

"Collected data, without a doubt, confirmed that this boat was trafficking narcotics, the individuals onboard were drug traffickers, and they were operating on a known narcotics transportation transportation path," authorities stated about this latest strike.

"Military actions will proceed until the dangers on the United States population are over!!!!"

US President furthermore acknowledged the strike on online networks, claiming that the vessel was transporting sufficient illegal substances "to cause death to 25 to 50 thousand individuals".

Controversial Aspects

However, the US has not provided proof for its assertions or any details about the backgrounds of those present on the ship.

There was no immediate response from Venezuela but its president has before now criticized the strikes and stated his nation will guard against against US "military intervention".

This latest deadly strike is the fourth by the US in a 30-day period.

Earlier, authorities had announced that eleven individuals had been killed in a operation against a drug-carrying boat in the tropical waters at the start of September.

Later in the period, two different operations days apart eliminated a total of six people.

Legal Framework

This Thursday, a confidential communication delivered to Congress – documented by journalistic sources – indicated the US government had now decided it was in a "domestic warfare situation" with trafficking groups.

This is significant because the government is obligated by law to inform Congress if it will use the armed forces, which indicates it intends to use more armed intervention.

The US has presented its strikes on purported trafficking ships as self-protection, regardless of many legal experts challenging their legality.

Presenting this as an current warfare situation is likely a method to rationalize using heightened military authorities – for example neutralizing "adversaries" even if they have not presented a physical risk, or imprisoning people without limit.

These represent analogous powers to those implemented regarding other organizations in earlier military situations.

Government officials have declined to offer the justification for why they give the impression of categorizing narcotics smuggling and connected crimes as an "armed attack", or specified which groups they consider are attacking the US.

Authorities have already categorized many cartels, including those in Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, as extremist groups – giving US authorities increased capabilities in their handling of them.