American forces have struck a vessel in the Caribbean suspected of carrying drugs, leaving some survivors, according to reports.
The case, disclosed by a US official to the Reuters news agency, is believed to be the first such attack resulting in survivors since the operation began in September.
At least 27 people have been killed by American forces across several strikes off Venezuela in recent weeks.
They have been criticised, with some questioning whether they are a breach of international law. The country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, has accused the US of trying to oust him.
It’s not known whether forces rendered aid to the survivors in Thursday’s reported strike and if they are in custody.
The Pentagon, which has labelled those it targeted in the strikes as narcoterrorists, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why is the US attacking boats?
Donald Trump’s administration has said it considers alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force.
US officials argue lethal strikes are necessary because traditional efforts to detain crew members and seize cargoes have historically failed to stem the flow of narcotics into America.
Videos of previous US attacks showed vessels being completely destroyed, and there have been no prior accounts of survivors afterwards.
The strikes come against the backdrop of a US military buildup in the Caribbean which includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops as Mr Trump escalates a stand-off with the Venezuelan government.
On Wednesday, he confirmed he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, adding to speculation in Caracas that the US is attempting to topple Mr Maduro.
Mr Maduro has been accused by the US of having links to drug trafficking and criminal groups, something he strongly denies.
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On Thursday, Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, condemned a recent US strike on a small boat in Caribbean waters that killed six people, calling it “a new set of extrajudicial executions”.
He called on the UN Security Council to investigate the five lethal attacks and 27 reported deaths since September.
Mr Moncada also referenced two fishermen from Trinidad and Tobago, believed to have been killed in a strike on Tuesday.
Speaking at the UN, he held up a copy of The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, which reported on the story.
Only a couple of miles separate Venezuela and neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago at their closest point.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has praised the first strike on a boat suspected of carrying drugs in the southern Caribbean and said all traffickers should be killed “violently”.
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The Trump administration has provided little information about the strikes, the identities of those killed, or details about the cargoes.
Some former military lawyers say the legal explanations for killing suspected drug traffickers at sea, instead of apprehending them, fail to satisfy requirements under the law of war.
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The Pentagon has framed the strikes as “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels and insists they are legitimate.
