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United States armed forces have fatally struck four persons in an operation on a vessel in waters close to Venezuela that was purportedly carrying illegal substances, according to Pentagon chief announcements.

"The military action was conducted in open seas just adjacent to Venezuela while the vessel was carrying large volumes of illegal substances - headed to America to poison our people," officials stated in a official communication.

This marks the latest in a series of fatal military operations that the US has conducted on vessels in international waters it claims are participating in "narcotics transportation".

The strikes have drawn criticism in states like Venezuela and Colombia, with various jurisprudence specialists characterizing the strikes as a violation of worldwide jurisprudence.

Action Particulars

Defense authorities stated the strike occurred in the US military command's jurisdictional territory, which covers a large portion of South America and the Caribbean.

"Our intelligence, certainly, confirmed that this vessel was transporting drugs, the individuals aboard were drug traffickers, and they were traveling along a recognized narcotics transportation transit route," military leaders declared about this latest attack.

"These strikes will persist until the attacks on the US citizens are eliminated!!!!"

The President furthermore confirmed the strike on social media, claiming that the vessel was containing sufficient narcotics "to cause death to 25 to 50 thousand persons".

Controversial Aspects

Nevertheless, the US has failed to supply verification for its claims or any particulars about the backgrounds of those aboard the vessel.

There was no prompt reaction from Venezuela but its leader has before now criticized the attacks and declared his nation will defend itself against US "hostile actions".

Friday's fatal attack is the fourth such by the US in a recent timeframe.

Earlier, officials had stated that eleven persons had been fatally struck in a strike against a narcotics-transporting boat in the southern Caribbean at the beginning of September.

Later in the month, two separate strikes within days of each other killed a aggregate six persons.

Legal Framework

This recently, a leaked memo sent to Congress – documented by journalistic sources – indicated the US administration had now decided it was in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels.

This is important because the administration is required by statute to notify Congress if it will employ the military, which indicates it aims to use additional armed intervention.

The US has framed its attacks on purported narcotics vessels as national security measures, notwithstanding many lawyers challenging their juridical validity.

Characterizing this as an ongoing military confrontation is presumably a way to rationalize using escalated wartime powers – for example neutralizing "combatants" even if they have not demonstrated a violent threat, or imprisoning people for unlimited periods.

These are similar authorities to those implemented regarding different entities in past conflicts.

Government officials have declined to offer the rationale for why they give the impression of designating illegal substances trade and related crimes as an "combat situation", or specified which organizations they believe are attacking the US.

Authorities have earlier classified many cartels, such as those in Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, as terrorist organisations – giving US authorities more powers in their reaction to them.