The US military said Thursday it killed two people in a strike on a vessel suspected of carrying illegal drugs in the eastern Pacific.
US Southern Command said on X that intelligence indicated the vessel was traveling known narco‑trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was involved in narco‑trafficking operations. The command added that no US military personnel were harmed. The statement did not provide evidence that the pictured boat was carrying narcotics before it was destroyed.
Officials noted this strike is the second since the United States captured the then‑Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a military operation on January 3 and brought him to the United States on charges that include narco‑terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.
Since early September, the administration of President Donald Trump has carried out strikes on vessels it says were engaged in smuggling in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. According to official figures, Thursday’s strike raises the reported death toll from these operations to 128.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has described the campaign, dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” as aimed at eliminating “narco‑terrorists from our hemisphere” and protecting the United States from “the drugs that are killing our people.” Critics and independent observers note that US authorities have not publicly produced evidence linking the specific boats targeted to drug trafficking.
Edited by: Sean Sinico