US Military Kills 11 in Strikes on Alleged Drug Boats in Pacific & Caribbean
- Military has conducted a series of strikes on vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of 11 individuals.
- According to a statement released by Southern Command, two vessels, each carrying four people, were targeted in the Eastern Pacific.
- “Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” Southern Command stated.
The U.S. Military has conducted a series of strikes on vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of 11 individuals. U.S. Southern Command announced the operations, which took place late on , alleging the vessels were involved in drug trafficking.
According to a statement released by Southern Command, two vessels, each carrying four people, were targeted in the Eastern Pacific. A third vessel, with three individuals on board, was struck in the Caribbean Sea. The military released video footage of the strikes, showing the vessels engulfed in flames following explosions. In two instances, the boats appeared stationary on the water before being destroyed.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” Southern Command stated. The command identified the vessels as being operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” though no specific groups were named in the initial announcement.
These strikes bring the total number of individuals killed in similar operations since , to at least 145, across 42 publicly acknowledged incidents. The operations are being carried out under the umbrella of Joint Task Force Southern Spear, established by the Trump administration to target alleged narco-trafficking activities.
The Trump administration has increasingly framed the fight against drug cartels as a national security issue, with President Trump asserting the United States is in an “armed conflict” with these organizations. , the administration designated 10 cartels as terrorist organizations, a move that provided a legal justification for the use of lethal force.
However, the strikes have drawn widespread criticism from legal experts, human rights organizations and international bodies. Amnesty International has argued that there is no legal basis for the attacks, stating that targeting alleged drug traffickers without providing evidence constitutes an extrajudicial killing – effectively, murder. The organization emphasizes that disrupting drug trafficking is a law enforcement matter, and the use of lethal force without an imminent threat to life is unlawful.
Independent experts at the United Nations have echoed these concerns, repeatedly warning that the strikes may amount to extrajudicial killings and calling for them to cease. In , UN experts stated, “These attacks appear to be unlawful killings carried out by order of a government, without judicial or legal process allowing due process of law.”
The operations have also faced scrutiny from within the U.S. Government. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, revealed after a briefing in that he was informed the targeted vessels were not transporting fentanyl, the primary driver of the opioid crisis in the United States, but rather cocaine destined for Europe.
“So we are spending billions of your taxpayer dollars to wage a war in the Caribbean to stop cocaine from going from Venezuela to Europe,” Murphy said. “That is a massive waste of national security resources and of your taxpayer dollars.”
Democratic lawmakers have attempted to halt the strikes through War Powers resolutions, but these efforts have been blocked by the Republican-controlled House and Senate.
The international backlash extends beyond human rights concerns. President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has directly accused the Trump administration of murdering a fisherman in one of the attacks, a claim that has further inflamed tensions. The lack of transparency surrounding the operations, and the absence of independent verification of the allegations of drug trafficking, continue to fuel controversy.
The strikes underscore a significant shift in U.S. Policy towards drug cartels, moving beyond traditional law enforcement approaches to a more aggressive military posture. Whether this strategy will prove effective in curbing the flow of illicit drugs, and at what cost, remains a subject of intense debate.