• US military strikes kill 11 people in operations against alleged drug-trafficking vessels.
• The attacks are part of Operation Southern Spear, escalating since September.
• Legal experts criticize the strikes as potential violations of international law.
• At least 145 deaths have been reported since the campaign's inception.
• The administration claims the strikes are justified within a framework of armed conflict.

In a recent series of operations, the US military struck three vessels accused of narcotics trafficking in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in the deaths of 11 individuals. The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported that these strikes were executed on known drug-trafficking routes, intended to combat what officials describe as "narco-terrorists" engaging in illicit activities, according to aa.

The US military indicated that four individuals were killed on each of two vessels in the Eastern Pacific, while three fatalities occurred on a third vessel in the Caribbean. This operation marks a continuation of the Trump administration's intensified campaign against drug traffickers, which has seen over 40 strikes since September, as reported by bbc and latimes.

While the government asserts that the vessels were actively involved in narcotics operations, legal experts are concerned about potential violations of international law. They argue that these lethal actions could constitute extrajudicial killings, as there is little evidence released to substantiate the claims that those killed were drug traffickers, according to aljazeera and indiatimes.

The escalation of US military actions has raised significant moral and legal questions, particularly as families of some alleged victims have begun to seek justice through legal means. Criticism includes claims that the administration's classification of drug traffickers as "combatants" does not accord with the legal frameworks typically applied to actual armed conflicts, highlighting the controversial nature of these military operations, noted by latimes and aljazeera.