US President Donald Trump alleged Friday that American forces carried out a lethal strike on a vessel in the Caribbean, killing three men he alleged were involved in narcotics trafficking.

“On my orders,” Trump wrote in a social media post amplified by the White House and the Secretary of War, “the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.”

The president’s post included video footage of the strike and its fiery aftermath.

Trump claimed that intelligence confirmed the boat was carrying illicit drugs along a well-known smuggling route, “en route to poison Americans.” He did not cite any legal justification for what critics are calling another extrajudicial killing of alleged traffickers.

The action took place under US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), the Pentagon’s regional command covering 31 countries across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Not an isolated incident 

This comes just a few days after Trump alleged that American forces had targeted a second Venezuelan vessel, killing three people he described as "terrorists transporting narcotics". The operation, he claimed, expanded his administration’s campaign against drug cartels and broadened the scope of military force used to stop them.

At the time, Trump provided only limited details, stating in a social media post that the strike had taken place earlier that morning under his direct orders. The post included a video of what appeared to be a stationary boat exploding into flames.

“The strike occurred while these confirmed narco-terroists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The carefully phrased announcement appeared intended to pre-empt legal challenges over the strike’s justification. Washington faced criticism earlier this month after an alleged similar operation against a Venezuelan vessel left 11 people dead.

Administration officials told Congress last week that the first strike was lawful under the president’s Article 2 powers, arguing the boat was linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Trump had recently designated a foreign terrorist organization, The Guardian reported, citing people familiar with the matter. 

Still, little concrete evidence has been provided that the vessel carried narcotics, beyond assertions that US intelligence tracked drugs being loaded before the boat allegedly turned back. Addressing questions about reports that it was a fishing vessel on Sunday, Trump told the Guardian, “You saw the bags of white. It’s nonsense. So we knew it before they even left. We knew exactly where that boat, where it came from, where the drugs came from and where it was heading.”

By labeling the second vessel’s crew “terrorists” and stressing the threat to the US, Trump appeared to be laying the groundwork to invoke the same Article 2 justification once more.

US military build-up in the region

These strike comes amid a significant US military buildup near Venezuela. Over the weekend, five F-35 fighter jets were deployed to Puerto Rico, joining half a dozen US Navy destroyers already positioned there, along with support assets aimed at disrupting drug trafficking.

The naval contingent includes the Iwo Jima amphibious ready group, comprising the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale with 4,500 sailors, as well as the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has 2,200 personnel, The Guardian reported, citing officials.

Trump has so far reportedly declined to commit to military operations inside Venezuela itself, sidestepping questions about the legality of the strikes. 

Our peoples are facing war: Maduro to Cuban delegation

Earlier today, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stated that the peoples of Venezuela and Cuba are confronting a multifaceted war, often referred to as a hybrid war, during a meeting with a Cuban government delegation.

Maduro noted that while those who invent geopolitical concepts give them different forms, the confirmed truth is that it is an immoral war.

The Venezuelan president affirmed that the persistent disregard shown toward both nations by certain parties compels them to continue "progressing, resisting, struggling, striving, and helping one another."

He additionally criticized what he termed the "immoral mafias of the North" that attempt to destabilize the region, emphasizing that peace will always be a victory for sovereign peoples. 

"We are fighting for love and the great nation," he said in conclusion.

Read next: Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela