The U.S. struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing six people, U.S. Southern Command said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The kinetic strike, ordered by the commander of Southern Command, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, targeted a boat operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” SOUTHCOM said on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSix male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,\u201d the post added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The post said the vessel was \u201cengaged in narco-trafficking operations\u201d and \u201ctransiting along known narco-trafficking routes.\u201d No additional evidence for the claims was provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. has conducted more than 40 strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September, killing more than 140 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest such strike, on Feb. 23, killed three people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration has argued that the strikes are in the country\u2019s national security interest, preventing illicit drugs from entering the U.S. But they have drawn criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups, who have scrutinized the legal justification for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday’s strike comes only days after the most recent visit of a Cabinet-level secretary to Venezuela, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum meeting with acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump officially recognized Rodr\u00edguez as Venezuela\u2019s president Saturday and said the U.S. \u201cformally recognized\u201d its new government following Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m pleased to say that this week, we have formally recognized the Venezuelan government. We\u2019ve actually legally recognized them,” Trump said at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Miami. “We have also just reached a historic gold deal. It\u2019s called the gold deal with Venezuela to allow our two countries to work together to facilitate the sale of Venezuelan gold and other minerals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump convened the summit to bring together the leaders of several \u201clikeminded\u201d Latin American countries to promote anti-drug trade strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n