The United States ruling class has struck another Venezuelan civilian boat, killing all four people on board. The government justified the war crime because they claimed the boat was headed to the U.S. carrying drugs.

Officials in the ruling class committed the war crime by removing due process from human beings unaffiliated with the military in another country, and deemed the boat to be a “narco-trafficking vessel” on Friday morning, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in a social media post.

Hegseth posted on X on Friday that, at President Trump’s order, he directed the “lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” He did not say which terrorist organization these humans were a part of, and he likely doesn’t care.

All four attacks on civilian Venezuelan boats were conducted because they were allegedly carrying illegal drugs by cartels into the U.S. However, by killing those on board and sinking the vessels, it will never be known if that’s the case. The tyrants have set a new precedent as well, by killing people without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves.

This move is sure to further inflame the tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. In fact, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Tuesday that he is preparing to declare a state of emergency to protect his country in the event of an attack by the US military. Considering that the U.S. continues to attack civilian boats, it isn’t too much of a stretch to think they could attack.

“They’re throwing a lot of words out there that don’t necessarily go together or constitute a coherent legal justification,” Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer who specializes in war powers issues, previously told CNN.

In a letter to Congress this week, the Pentagon said Trump had determined that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with the drug cartels his administration has designated as terrorist organizations, and that smugglers for the cartels are “unlawful combatants,” CNN has reported.

This is a dangerous precedent, as now, all the rulers have to do is declare people terrorists to take them out. We are on that slippery slope, and unfortunately, Trump’s administration is taking us there at an increased and violent pace.