US Military Strike Kills Three in Suspected Drug Smuggling Operation
The US military killed three people after striking a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday. This attack is the latest operation in President Donald Trump's campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.
The strike adds to a military effort that has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and legal experts, according to the Associated Press. Critics have questioned its legality, effectiveness, and targeting standards.
According to US Southern Command, the vessel was targeted along a known drug-smuggling route. However, the military did not provide evidence that the boat was carrying narcotics. A video posted on X showed the vessel speeding through the water before being struck and bursting into flames. Southern Command wrote, "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."
This latest operation brings the number of people killed in US military boat strikes to at least 211 since the Trump administration began targeting what it calls 'narcoterrorists' in September.
President Trump has argued that the United States is in 'armed conflict' with Latin American cartels and has defended the strikes as part of efforts to curb drug trafficking and overdose deaths in the US. However, the administration has provided limited evidence to support its claims that those killed in the operations were 'narcoterrorists'.
The campaign has drawn criticism from legal scholars, lawmakers, and policy experts, who have questioned both the legality and effectiveness of the strikes. Critics have noted that fentanyl linked to many overdose deaths in the US is typically trafficked over land through Mexico, where it is manufactured using chemicals imported from China and India.
Scrutiny intensified on Thursday as senators called on the Pentagon to release 'unedited video' footage of the strikes.
Concerns have also centered on the military's first strike in September. In that incident, two men initially survived an attack that killed nine others and were reportedly clinging to wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them. The White House later confirmed the second strike, saying it was carried out in 'self-defence' to ensure the vessel was destroyed and was conducted in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
