The US military has struck three boats in the Pacific Ocean accused of carrying drugs, killing eight people. The US Southern Command shared videos showing the strikes and said the boats were "transiting along known narco-trafficking routes... and were engaged in narco-trafficking." This is part of a wider campaign targeting over 20 vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean, which has killed at least 90 people. The campaign is led by President Donald Trump, aiming to stop drug gangs operating near Venezuela. Experts have raised legal concerns. The first strike on 2 September included two attacks, with survivors of the first strike killed in a second one. Several legal experts told BBC Verify that the second strike was likely illegal and called it an extrajudicial killing under international law. A former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor said the US campaign looks like a "planned, systematic attack against civilians during peacetime." The White House responded, saying it acted within the laws of armed conflict to protect the US from cartels "trying to bring poison to our shores... destroying American lives." The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of sending drugs into the US and has increased efforts to isolate President Nicolas Maduro. The US has positioned thousands of troops and the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford near Venezuela. On 10 December, US forces seized an oil tanker off Venezuela, claiming it carried sanctioned oil linked to terrorist groups. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil called the seizure "international piracy" and accused Trump of wanting Venezuela's energy resources. Venezuela, with some of the world's largest oil reserves, says the US wants to steal its resources.