The U.S. military launched another strike Tuesday on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men.
In a social media post, U.S. Southern Command said its commander, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, ordered a “lethal kinetic strike” on a boat it alleged was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” and “was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” but without providing evidence. It also included unclassified video of the strike.
The attack came a day after U.S. forces struck an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people.
The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and have killed at least 190 people in total, according to the Pentagon.
Despite the Iran war, the strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks, showing that the administration’s aggressive measures to stop what it calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere are not letting up. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.
The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.
In the attack Tuesday, U.S. Southern Command once again said it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat cruising along the water before a huge explosion left the vessel in flames.
President Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”
Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.
