Image shared on the X account of Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of War. Photo: social media
Guacamaya, October 3, 2025. The United States reported this Friday that a military operation against a vessel allegedly linked to drug trafficking left four people dead in international waters near the coast of Venezuela.
The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, stated in a post on X that the action is part of a series of similar operations carried out in recent weeks. According to the official, this is at least the fourth such attack in a month.
Hegseth stated that the operations will continue “until the attacks on the American people end.” Washington maintains that these actions aim to disrupt maritime routes used for smuggling drugs into U.S. territory.
Human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch have labeled these attacks as “unlawful extrajudicial killings,” questioning their legality under international law. Other organizations and experts have warned that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a party, protects the right to life. According to legal standards on human rights, those who perform law enforcement functions, including military personnel, must minimize harm and preserve human life, resorting to the use of lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect against an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
Adopted in 1966 by the UN General Assembly and in force since 1976, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is one of the main treaties that make up the International Bill of Human Rights. It recognizes fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of association, due process, and centrally, the right to life. States parties commit to guaranteeing these rights and to being held accountable before the UN Human Rights Committee.
It is worth noting that in none of the attacks have U.S. authorities released details, such as the names of the people on the vessels, something that has been questioned by the press and Democratic politicians.
The presidents of Colombia and Brazil have also expressed criticism of these operations, warning that the U.S. strategy could escalate regional tensions and put international humanitarian law at risk.
The attack comes one day after President Donald Trump determined that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, which his administration has designated as terrorist organizations.
In the document, the government further argues that smugglers linked to these groups should be considered “unlawful combatants,” granting the Department of War the legal basis to carry out military operations against them. According to the notification, that legal interpretation supported last month’s attack in the Caribbean against a vessel suspected of transporting members of one of those cartels designated as terrorist organizations.
