US forces said to strike alleged drug boat in the Pacific
U.S. forces struck another ship carrying drugs, this time in Pacific Ocean waters, CBS reported.
According to two American officials cited in the report, two or three people on board were killed.
If confirmed, the strike marks the eighth US strike against boats suspected of drug trafficking since September 2 – but the first in the Caribbean.
The BBC has contacted the White House, Pentagon and State Department for comment.
In a recently leaked memo sent to US lawmakers, the Trump administration said it had determined it was involved in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug trafficking organizations.
At least 34 people have been killed in U.S. strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats, including a recent strike on a semi-submersible ship in the Caribbean.
Two men survived a strike last week and were repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian government later released him – identified as Andrés Fernando Tufiño – saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing. The other man, from Colombia, is still said to be hospitalized.
U.S. President Donald Trump and administration officials have repeatedly justified the strikes as necessary counter-drug measures to combat drug trafficking organizations, several of which have been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
The location of the most recent collision and the origin of the vessel remain unclear.
News of the strike, however, comes amid growing tensions between the Trump administration and the Colombian government of President Gustavo Petro.
On Sunday, Trump denounced Petro as an “illegal drug leader” who “strongly encourages the mass production of drugs, in fields large and small, throughout Colombia.”
Trump added that the United States would no longer offer subsidies to Colombia, which is historically one of its closest allies in Latin America.
Colombia and neighboring Ecuador have significant Pacific coastlines that experts say are used to transport drugs north to the United States via Central America and Mexico.
U.S. estimates from the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, indicate that the vast majority of cocaine bound for U.S. cities comes via the Pacific.
Drug seizures in the Caribbean – where the bulk of confirmed US strikes have taken place so far – represent a relatively small percentage of the total, although US officials have warned that percentage is increasing.
So far, U.S. officials have provided few details about the identities of those killed in the strikes or the drug trafficking organizations to which they are believed to belong.
Approximately 10,000 US troops, as well as dozens of military aircraft and ships, were deployed to the Caribbean as part of the operation.
