US military strike on alleged drug boat kills 2 in eastern Pacific
WASHINGTON– The US military announced it launched a new strike on Friday against a boat accused of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.
The Trump administration’s campaign to blow up suspected drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has continued since early September and has killed at least 183 people in total. Other strikes took place in the Caribbean Sea.
The military has provided no evidence that any of the ships were carrying drugs.
The attacks began as the United States was building its largest military presence in the region in generations and took place months before the January raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug charges and pleaded not guilty.
In the latest attack on Friday, the U.S. Southern Command reiterated its previous statements saying it had targeted suspected drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. He posted a video on X showing a boat floating in the water before an explosion left it in flames.
President Donald Trump said the United States was in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.
