US military strikes another alleged drug boat in Caribbean, killing 3
WASHINGTON– The US military announced on Friday that it had carried out a new deadly strike against a ship accused of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea.
The U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat was “transiting known narcotics trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narcotics trafficking operations.” According to the statement, the strike killed three people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving on water before exploding into flames.
Friday’s attack brings the death toll from Trump administration strikes on suspected drug boats to 133, in at least 38 attacks since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that “some of the major drug traffickers” in the region “have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean.” However, Hegseth did not provide any details or information to support this claim, made in a post on his personal social media account.
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. But his administration has provided little evidence to support its claims that he killed “narcoterrorists.”
