Washington: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has publicly affirmed that the Pentagon holds all necessary authorizations to carry out recent military strikes in the Caribbean targeting vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking near Venezuela. Speaking on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing”, Hegseth stressed that the operations were conducted under a framework allowing the U.S. to engage in what the administration terms a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, designating them as foreign terrorist organizations.

The latest strike, executed on Friday, resulted in the deaths of four individuals aboard a vessel identified by U.S. authorities as linked to narcotics smuggling. Hegseth insisted that the military’s intervention in international waters is fully legal and jus

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