U.S. strike kills three on alleged drug-smuggling boat in Pacific
The attack raises the reported death toll from U.S. boat strikes to at least 211 since the Trump administration began the campaign in September.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The U.S. military struck a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing three people it accused of drug trafficking, according to U.S. Southern Command. The attack adds to a widening Trump administration campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America that has drawn legal and congressional scrutiny.
The Associated Press reported that at least 211 people have been killed in U.S. military strikes on boats since early September, when the administration began targeting people it describes as “narcoterrorists.” The campaign has focused on vessels in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea.
U.S. Southern Command said the latest vessel was hit along known drug-smuggling routes, according to the AP. The command did not release evidence showing the boat was carrying narcotics.
A video posted on X showed a vessel moving quickly through the water before an impact set it ablaze, the AP reported. The military has often issued limited statements after such strikes, including in this case.
Administration defends campaign
President Donald Trump has said the United States is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America, according to the AP. He has argued that military strikes are needed to curb drug flows into the United States and reduce overdose deaths.
The AP reported that the administration has provided little public evidence to back its descriptions of those killed as “narcoterrorists.” Critics have challenged both the legal basis for the attacks and whether they address the main channels for deadly drugs entering the United States.
Some critics have pointed to fentanyl, which is linked to many fatal overdoses and is generally moved into the United States over land from Mexico, according to the AP. The drug is produced in Mexico using chemicals imported from China and India, the AP reported.
Lawmakers seek full videos
Senators on Thursday called on the Pentagon to provide “unedited video” of the boat strikes, the AP reported. Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars have been among those pressing for more information about the campaign.
The first U.S. strike in early September has drawn particular attention, according to the AP. In that attack, two men survived an initial strike that killed nine others and were holding onto wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them.
The White House confirmed the second strike, saying it was carried out “in self-defense” to make sure the boat was destroyed and complied with the laws of armed conflict, according to the AP. Some legal scholars told the AP that killing survivors in a follow-up strike would be unlawful under any circumstances, regardless of whether an armed conflict existed.
The Pentagon’s inspector general said in May that it plans to examine whether the military used an established targeting process when conducting the strikes, the AP reported. The review will focus on the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle rather than the broader legality of the attacks, the watchdog’s office said.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.