The US military says it has carried out strikes on three boats it has accused of trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean, killing eight people.
The US Southern Command posted footage of the strikes on social media and claimed the vessels were 'transiting along known narco-trafficking routes... and were engaged in narco-trafficking'.
More than 20 vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean have been targeted in recent months, killing at least 90 people, as part of President Donald Trump's escalating campaign against gangs he accuses of transporting drugs in the region.
Some experts say the strikes could violate laws governing armed conflict.
The first attack by the US - on 2 September - has drawn particular scrutiny as there were two strikes, with survivors of the first targeted in the second.
Legal analysts have indicated that the second strike on the alleged Venezuelan drug boat by the US military appears illegal and may be seen as an extrajudicial killing under international law.
A former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court stated that the US military campaign overall could constitute a planned and systematic attack against civilians during peacetime.
In response, the White House indicated actions were within the laws of armed conflict to protect the US from cartels 'trying to bring poison to our shores... destroying American lives'.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuela of funneling narcotics into the US and has intensified efforts to isolate President Nicolas Maduro. Thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford have been positioned near Venezuela.
On 10 December, US forces seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, claimed to be used for transporting sanctioned oil in an ‘illicit oil shipping network'.
Venezuela's Foreign Minister denounced the seizure as 'international piracy', alleging that Trump aims to exploit their energy resources. Venezuela maintains it is a target for Washington's resource ambitions.
