US Attack on Drug Boat Leaves Three Dead

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that three people were killed in a US attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean.

 This is the latest in a series of attacks on vessels that the Trump administration says are being used to smuggle drugs into the US.

 Since these attacks began in September, experts have questioned the legality of these strikes under international law, drawing strong criticism from Latin American leaders whose citizens have been targeted.

 Combating the flow of illegal drugs is a key policy of US President Donald Trump – but some say these attacks are part of efforts to influence politically opposing governments in the region.

 Hegseth said that the boat targeted on Saturday was operated by a designated terrorist organization – although he did not specify which organization – and was traveling in international waters when it was attacked.

 He said, without providing any evidence, that the ship was traveling along a known drug smuggling route and carrying narcotics.

 Announcements of these attacks are usually accompanied by blurry footage, but there is no evidence of alleged drug trafficking and little information about who or what was on each ship.

 A video was released late Saturday night along with Hegseth's statement, showing a blurry boat moving in the water before exploding.

 The Trump administration has insisted it is targeting "narco-terrorists."

 Colombian President Gustavo Petro previously described the attacks as "assassinations" and said the US was using them to establish "dominance" over Latin America.

 Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of "warmongering."

 Both leftist leaders have consistently clashed with the Trump administration.

 Following Petro's comments, the US imposed sanctions on him and those close to him, and also withdrew Colombia's certification as an ally in the war on drugs. Trump has threatened military action against ground targets in Venezuela.

 But he has acknowledged that this may require the consent of the US Congress.

 However, some US lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have said that the attacks on the ships also required congressional approval – which Trump has denied.

 Others have questioned whether these deadly attacks were legal.

 UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Friday that such attacks violate international human rights law.

 "More than 60 people have been killed in repeated attacks by US armed forces... under circumstances that have no justification under international law," he said.

 "These attacks – and their mounting human toll – are unacceptable."

 Experts on Latin American politics have suggested that the attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific region were part of measures designed to force change in Colombia and Venezuela.

 The US is one of several countries that consider Maduro's election last year illegitimate, while Trump has been critical of Petro's policies to combat the drug trade in his country, which has traditionally been a US ally.

 Washington has been steadily increasing the number of warships, fighter jets, naval forces, spy planes, bombers, and drones in the Caribbean region over the past few months, which it has presented as part of a crackdown on drug trafficking, but military analysts say this number is far more than necessary.