WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Southern Command said on Monday that it carried out strikes on three vessels in international waters, killing eight ⁠men.

"Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were ⁠transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific ‍and were engaged in narco-trafficking," the military said in a post on X.

The United States struck more than 20 vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela as part of a military campaign President Donald Trump has launched on drug smuggling from the region.

At least 90 suspected drug smugglers have been killed ;in the process.

The use of ‍the military to attack suspected drug vessels marks a ‍stark departure from how the U.S. has historically dealt with them.

The Trump administration has sought to defend the legality of the strikes, which ⁠some legal experts have said amount to unlawful ‍extrajudicial killings.

"Our ​operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of ;Armed Conflict," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley ⁠Wilson ‍told reporters earlier this month.

The strikes are viewed as the ‍precursor to U.S. land strikes on Venezuela ;that Trump has ‍said will ​soon start.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber)