US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugs
The US military has launched a deadly strike on a vessel in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of drug trafficking.
On Monday, US Southern Command (SouthCom) announced it “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific”.
“Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed two narco-terrorists,” SouthCom added.
Southern Command did not provide evidence for the vessel’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
In a statement on the strikes, Francis L Donovan, SouthCom’s commander general, said: “We are committed to imposing total systemic friction on narco-terrorists – disrupting their operations, dismantling their leadership and eliminating cartel terror across the region.”
“This operation is a powerful demonstration of our lethal precision, overwhelming capability, and absolute resolve to protect the US homeland,” Donovan added.
A pixelated black-and-white video posted to SouthCom’s X account on Monday showed a vessel moving through the water before it was struck by an explosion that produced a large flash of light.
Monday’s strike marks the latest in a series of US military strikes since the Donald Trump administration launched what it described as a campaign targeting “narco-terrorists” smuggling drugs into the US, despite numerous reports indicating that the strikes have done little to stem the flow of drugs into the country.
It brings the overall death toll to 223 people killed in 67 strikes during the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing alleged drug boats off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command says the campaign has resulted in the destruction of 64 speedboats, three “low-profile” ships and a semisubmersible craft.
The latest strike comes as the Trump administration pursues deals with allied nations to extend its offensive to land across multiple Latin American countries. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Panama this month that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the US to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups on their soil. Guatemala denied reaching such a deal.
Ecuador launched similar missions with the US in March.
The Trump administration’s boat bombing campaign began in early September and has left numerous survivors, but most of them have never been recovered.
US Southern Command said in a separate statement on Monday that there have been more than 20 search and rescue efforts overall, almost all of which were unsuccessful.
According to data compiled from the command’s social media posts, the strikes have generated 28 survivors with only three people ever being rescued – one person during a strike in March who was transferred to the Costa Rican Coast Guard, and two wounded people who were later repatriated to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia.