The US military carried out a strike on another boat accused of carrying narcotics on board, killing three people, the US Southern Command announced on Sunday. It was the 21st strike of this type reported in recent weeks.
Saturday’s attack targeted a ship operated by “a designated terrorist organization” in the Eastern Pacific, in international waters, authorities said. SOUTHCOM did not disclose the organization or where the ship came from.
In a video posted on social media, SOUTHCOM said the ship was carrying narcotics and transiting a route known for drug trafficking.
The latest strike comes amid a major US military buildup in the region. On Sunday, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier The USS Gerald R. Ford and its carrier strike group arrived in the Caribbean Sea. Southern Command is the primary combat unit for operations in the Caribbean and South America. The USS Ford is the largest aircraft carrier in the world and the most advanced in the US Navy.
The administration has insisted that building the warships was intended to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, but it has released no evidence to support its claims that those killed aboard the boats were “narcoterrorists.”
Since September, U.S. forces have struck at least 22 ships carrying drugs from South America to the United States, killing at least 83 people.
The Trump administration says operations — the details of which remain rare – are part of an anti-drug offensive. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dubbed the broader anti-trafficking effort “Operation Southern Spear.”
The president justified attacks on drug boats by claiming the United States was in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, while claiming the boats were operated by foreign terrorist organizations. He faced reprisals from leaders of the regionTHE UN human rights chief and lawmakers, including some Republicans, who pressed for more information about who was targeted and the legal justification for the boat strikes.
