U.S. strikes 2 more alleged drug boats in Pacific, bringing total death count to over 100
The US military says it struck two more drug-carrying boats on Thursday, bringing the total death toll during the Trump administration’s months of campaigning to more than 100.
The last two boats were sailing in the Eastern Pacific along “known drug trafficking routes,” US Southern Command said in an article on X. The military said the boats were operated by designated terrorist organizations. She did not name the suspected operators of the vessels, but the Trump administration has designated several Latin American drug cartels as terrorist groups.
Around five “male narcoterrorists” were killed in the two strikes – three in one boat and two in the other. A total of 104 people have been killed since the anti-boat strikes began on September 2.
President Trump launched these strikes as part of a necessary crackdown on drug trafficking. His administration has legally justified campaign by arguing that the United States is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels.
But the strikes are increasingly controversial, with Democrats and some Republicans saying the military lacks the legal authority to carry out the strikes and has not provided enough evidence that the boats were carrying drugs bound for the United States. Democrats in both houses of Congress have introduced resolutions aimed at limiting strikes, but they have been voted against, most recently by House Republicans Wednesday.
And in recent weeks, the first boat attack in early September has drawn renewed attention due to reports that the military carried out a follow-up strike to kill two survivors.
The strikes are part of a broader buildup of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean and nearby Latin America, with warships and fighter jets deployed to the region as part of what the Trump administration calls “Operation Southern Spear,” a counternarcotics mission. Mr. Trump said he planned to expand the campaign by ordering strikes on drug-related ground targets.
The military buildup and boat strikes have drawn sharp criticism from the governments of Venezuela and Colombia. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – whom the United States has accused of collaborating with drug cartels – has accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change.
