The Trump Administration Has Now Carried 30 Strikes Against Alleged Drug Vessels And Killed At Least 107 People

The Trump administration has now carried 30 strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific following the latest attack on Monday.

Two people were killed in the latest attack, which took place in the Eastern Pacific, according to the U.S. Southern Command, bringing the death toll to at least 107.

The military claimed the vessel was "engaged in narco-trafficking operations." In a video posted on social media, it can be seen moving through the water before being struck twice.

The Trump administration has told Congress it considers itself to be in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels and has labeled those killed as "unlawful combatants," citing a classified Justice Department finding that it says permits lethal action without judicial review, as CNN explains.

The operation has drawn growing criticism from legal experts and lawmakers, particularly over a follow-up strike on Sept. 2 that killed two survivors of an initial attack, with several experts have said that second strike could constitute an extrajudicial killing under international law. Hegseth has rejected declassifying the footage and won't release it publicly.

The Trump administration is also escalating pressure on two other fronts. One is the blockade of sanctioned tankers, which has led the regime to shut oil wells as it runs out of storage facility.

Bloomberg detailed that Caracas is seeking to reduce production in the Orinoco Belt by at least 25% to half a million barrels a day. The figure amounts to 15% of the country's daily output of 1.1 million of barrels a day.

The other is a reported attack on what has been described as a remote dock in the Venezuelan coast believed to be used by the Tren de Aragua gang to load drugs onto vessels that would then journey through the Caribbean.

CNN cited sources with knowledge of the attack who said no one was present at the facility and there were no casualties. It added that Special Operations Forces provided intelligence support, but a spokesperson for the US Special Operations Command, Col. Allie Weiskopf, said that was not the case. Trump acknowledged the strike on Monday but refused to disclose who was behind it.