The U.S. military conducted another strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Monday, a Pentagon official confirmed to CBS News. The attack targeted a vessel in the Caribbean Sea and killed four people on board.
Since September, U.S. forces have destroyed at least 21 vessels in 20 strikes in international waters, killing at least 80 people. The Trump administration says the operations — the details of which remain sparse — are part of an anti-drug offensive. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dubbed the wider anti-trafficking effort “Operation Southern Spear.”
On Friday, U.S. Southern Command posted a short video of the strike and said the vessel was “operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.” “Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. 4 male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” the post said.
Hegseth has said previous attacks also targeted “narco-terrorists” on known drug trafficking routes, although U.S. officials have not provided specific evidence that the vessels were smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.
Some experts say the strikes, which have taken place in both the Pacific and Caribbean, may violate international law even if they target known drug traffickers. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk this week urged an investigation into the legality of the strikes, warning of “strong indications” of “extrajudicial killings.”
The latest strike comes amid an increasing U.S. military buildup in the region. This week, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford and other warships had entered the Southern Command’s area of responsibility, which includes the Caribbean. The USS Ford is the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and the U.S. Navy’s most advanced.
Senior military officials on Wednesday presented President Trump with updated options for potential operations in Venezuela, including strikes on land, according to multiple sources familiar with the meetings at the White House. No final decision has been made, however, two of the sources told CBS News.
Meanwhile, Venezuela announced Tuesday that it was launching a massive military exercise across the country, reportedly involving some 200,000 forces.
Many people both inside Venezuela, including President Nicolas Maduro himself, and observers outside the country believe the increased U.S. military pressure is aimed at forcing Maduro out of office.
When asked in a recent interview with “60 Minutes” if Maduro’s “days were numbered,” Mr. Trump responded, “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”
Mr. Trump has repeatedly accused Maduro of being complicit with armed criminal gangs that smuggle drugs into the U.S. — accusations the Venezuelan leader has rejected.
Meanwhile, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday ordered his country to stop sharing intelligence with the U.S. He said the directive would “remain in force as long as the missile attacks on boats in the Caribbean continue.”
This story has been updated to reflect that a Pentagon official later told CBS News the strike took place on Monday, not Tuesday.
