President Donald Trump has declared that the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, his administration said in a notice sent to Congress after recent strikes on boats off Venezuela.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP on Thursday, is designed as a legal justification for at least three recent strikes in international waters that have killed at least 14 people.

The Trump administration has deployed several military vessels to the Caribbean Sea to counter drug smugglers amid mounting tensions with Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolas Maduro.

“The president determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States,” the notice f

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