GENEVA, Sept 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - United Nations rights experts on Tuesday condemned Washington for its "extrajudicial execution" of 14 people in its "lawless" military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats from Venezuela.

"International law does not allow governments to simply murder alleged drug traffickers," the three independent UN experts said in a statement.

President Donald Trump confirmed that a new US strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat from Venezuela on Monday killed three people.

That came after US forces earlier this month blew up a boat with 11 people onboard, which Washington claimed was operated by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

On Tuesday, Trump said his country had "knocked off" three boats in total from Venezuela, but did not elaborate on what had happened with the third boat, or if any more people had been killed.

The UN expert statement said they "condemned the extrajudicial execution by the United States" of the 14 known to have been killed.

"Under international law, all countries must respect the right to life, including when acting on the high seas or in foreign territory," said the experts, including the special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and on protecting human rights while countering terrorism.

"The use of potentially lethal force is only permitted in personal self-defence or defence of others against an imminent threat to life."

The US government has released videos of the two previously known strikes and claims it has irrefutable evidence the people killed were traffickers seeking to ship deadly drugs to the United States.

It has not, however, provided details to back up those claims, while drug trafficking itself is not a capital offence under US law.

The independent experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, rejected the US allegations.

"There is no evidence that this group is committing an armed attack against the US that would allow the US to use military force against it in national self-defence," they said.

The US attacks have come amid spiralling tensions in the Caribbean as a large US naval build-up sparks speculation that Washington may be seeking regime change in Caracas.

"International law does not permit the unilateral use of force abroad to fight terrorism or drug trafficking," the experts said.

"We urge the United States to retreat from its lawless 'war on narco-terrorism'."

The experts urged Washington to "independently investigate those who ordered and carried out these murders".

And they stress the country was also required under international law to "prosecute perpetrators, no matter how senior in government, provide reparation to the victims' families, and guarantee that such acts will never occur again".