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The United States has struck another boat off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, continuing a series of deadly attacks that have drawn questions about their legality.
The latest strike came in international waters and killed six people suspected of running drugs, the president said on social media. He also posted a 33-second video that shows the boat exploding.
It was at least the fifth U.S. strike on small boats in the region since Sept. 2, with at least 27 people killed.
Legal experts, Democrats and even some Republicans argue that using military force against civilians without proof of an imminent threat violates U.S. and international law.
In a memo to Congress seen by The Associated Press, the Trump administration said that because it had “determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations,” Trump can direct the Pentagon to carry out operations against them without congressional approval.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to MSNBC’s request for comment.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López has accused the U.S. of striking boats in the Caribbean under false pretenses of drug trafficking.
“I want to warn the population: We have to prepare ourselves because the irrationality with which the U.S. empire operates is not normal,” Padrino said last week. “It’s anti-political, anti-human, warmongering, rude and vulgar.”