THE US military has attacked a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three people on board the vessel, President Donald Trump has said, hinting that such actions could be expanded further.

“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US,” Mr Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to US National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital US Interests.”

The attack took place nearly two weeks after another military strike, on what the Trump administration claimed was a drug-carrying speedboat operated by Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, left 11 people dead.

There was no immediate comment on the latest attack from Venezuela, whose President Nicolas Maduro has been blamed by the Trump administration for the availability of illegal drugs in US communities.

Mr Maduro, at a press conference earlier on Monday, accused the Trump administration of using drug-trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation “to intimidate and seek regime change” in his country.

He also condemned a weekend operation in which 18 marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean, saying: “They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna-fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking.”

When asked by reporters what proof the US had that the vessel was carrying drugs, Mr Trump said military video footage showed the cargo “spattered all over the ocean — big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.”

He also suggested that US strikes targeting alleged drug-smugglers at sea could be expanded to land.

But several senators, some Republicans as well as Democrats, have questioned the legality of this action, in part because the military was used for law enforcement.

California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said he was drafting a war powers resolution aimed at preventing US troops from engaging in further strikes until formal authorisation by Congress.

He expressed concern that “these lawless killings are just putting us at risk,” adding: “I don’t want to see us get into some war with Venezuela because the president is just blowing ships willy-nilly out of the water.”

Human rights groups also say that the strikes breach international law.

“Let us be clear — this may be an extrajudicial execution, which is murder,” said Daphne Eviatar of Amnesty International USA. “There is absolutely no legal justification for this military strike.”