U.S. Southern Command reports boat strike in eastern Pacific, five killed
The U.S. military said it attacked a vessel it alleged was involved in drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific, resulting in five deaths and bringing the total toll of such strikes to at least 240.
The U.S. military said it engaged a boat it accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, killing five people. Southern Command stated that intelligence indicated the vessel was actively involved in narcotrafficking and that the strike was carried out along known smuggling routes.
A video posted on X showed a small boat before it was engulfed by an explosion; the craft does not appear to be moving at the time of the attack. The Pentagon has not released evidence confirming the presence of drugs on the vessel.
President Trump has described the United States as being in an "armed conflict" with Latin American cartels and has defended the strikes as necessary to curb drug flows that contribute to overdose deaths in the United States. Critics note that much of the fentanyl causing overdoses is transported over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from Asia.
Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars have raised questions about the legality and effectiveness of the boat strikes. The Pentagon’s inspector general announced a review of whether the operations followed established targeting procedures, though the review will not assess the legality of the strikes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who pledged in September to seek regional allies’ approval for such actions, said the United States has the capacity to act unilaterally but prefers cooperation, describing it as the most effective approach. He added that the military would continue to target vessels when deemed necessary, determining each action on a case-by-case basis.
The latest incident follows earlier strikes, including a August operation that killed two people on a semi-submersible vessel and a June attack in the Caribbean that resulted in two deaths and six survivors. Lawmakers have previously requested unedited video of the first strike conducted after reports that a follow-on attack hit survivors attempting to re-board the boat, a matter some have described as potentially constituting a war crime.