(Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he has every authorization needed for strikes in the Caribbean by the U.S. military against vessels allegedly carrying illegal drugs just off the coast of Venezuela.

Hegseth was speaking in a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday. The United States killed four people in a strike on Friday, at least the fourth such attack in recent weeks.

“We have every authorization needed. These are designated as foreign terrorist organizations,” Hegseth said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing.”

Hegseth and President Donald Trump have not provided evidence for claims that the targeted boats were carrying drugs. Trump told Congress last week that he had determined the U.S. to be in “a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels,

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