Russia's foreign ministry warned the United States against making a “fatal mistake” after a recent U.S. strike in the eastern Pacific killed four men, a development that follows months of U.S. maritime operations near Venezuela.U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the action a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel allegedly involved in narco‑trafficking; U.S. officials say Operation Southern Spear began in September, has involved at least 26 known strikes and deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, fighter jets staged in Puerto Rico, Marines at sea and more than 20 vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean.Human rights groups and legal experts demand independent investigations and say the campaign amounts to extrajudicial killings, while Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro labeled U.S. moves piracy and vowed resistance; some U.S. advisers, including Susie Wiles, say the operations also serve broader political objectives, intensifying regional diplomatic tensions.