&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "One dead, two survivors after US military hits alleged narco-trafficking vessel")
The US Military has launched another strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, said the SOUTHCOM. The strike has resulted in the death of one, while two survived. The SOUTHCOM alleged on Social Media the boat was “operated by a designated terrorist organisation” and was involved in “narco-trafficking operations”.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific andwas engaged in narco-trafficking operations. One male narco-terrorist was killed during this action, and there were two survivors. Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.No U.S. military forces were harmed," mentioned US SOUTHCOM in a social media post on the platform X.
The Trump administration had started the highly controversial blowing up of vessels, which they claim are “drugboats”, since the start of September 2025. The overarching mission of Operation Southern Spear was to “detect, disrupt and degrade transnational criminal networks", resulting in the death of 194 individuals. However, the US military is yet to provide any evidence that any of the vessels was carrying drugs. US President Donald Trump has said that the government is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels in Latin America and justified that the US has initiated a new counter terrorism strategy to serve the national interest by halting the flow of drugs.
Democrats and Military scholars have protested the legality of the strikes, while last month, the White House announced Mr Trump had signed off on a new US counterterrorism strategy that sets eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as the administration's highest priority. The Pentagon Watchdog said that it will evaluate whether the strike followed the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle, which includes a military commander’s intent, target development, analysis, decision, execution and assessment.
