Pentagon confirms 21st strike on alleged drug boat, kills three in international waters. Watch video

The Pentagon on Sunday (Nov 16) announced that it had carried out the 21st known strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in international waters. US Southern Command confirmed on Sunday that American forces (on Saturday) carried out a strike on a boat moving along a well-known smuggling route in the eastern Pacific.

American strikes continue; over 80 alleged "narco terrorists" killed

In a post online US Southern Command said that Intelligence showed the vessel was carrying narcotics. "Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics". It added that "Three male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed," and that "The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific and was struck in international waters."

This brings the total number of deaths linked to these "narco-terrorism" operations to 83. Officials say the mission is designed to choke off the drug trade before it reaches US shores, and reports suggest they have used everything from fighter jets to drones to do it. Citing a Defense Department official, CNN reports that the US carried out the twentieth strike just last week.

The effort has drawn heavy fire. Colombia’s president said last week he would halt intelligence cooperation with Washington until the attacks stop. Legal experts in the US have also warned that the campaign could violate both American and international law. The Justice Department, for its part, has told Congress it does not need approval to continue the strikes.

US moves to designate alleged Maduro-led cartel a terrorist group

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday announced that Washington plans to formally classify the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation. The US argues the group, which it says is tied directly to Maduro and other senior officials, works with known outfits like Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel and fuels violence and drug trafficking across the region.

"Cartel de los Soles by and with other designated FTOs, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe," he said in a statement. Caracas calls the accusations absurd and claims the growing US military presence in the Caribbean is cover for regime change.

Washington maintains that Maduro is an illegitimate leader and a drug trafficker, a charge he rejects. Doubling down, Rubio said, "Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela's legitimate government." He insisted that the US will continue to use every tool available to cut off the funding and reach of groups it considers narco terrorists.