U.S strikes another suspected drug-trafficking vessel in Pacific, killing 2
U.S. forces carried out another strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of drug trafficking, the Department of Defense said Monday. The operation was the first publicly announced strike in roughly two months.
The latest attack brings the death toll in the nearly yearlong U.S. campaign against suspected drug-trafficking vessels to more than 210, following more than 60 strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific near Latin America.
U.S. Southern Command said the military conducted a “lethal kinetic strike” against a low-profile vessel traveling along established drug-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific. The Pentagon did not release evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs.
The operation was the first such strike since powerful earthquakes struck on June 24, killing thousands of people.
Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said the military remains focused on disrupting drug-trafficking organizations, targeting their leadership and combating criminal groups throughout the region.
The strike comes as the Trump administration works to expand its campaign through agreements with governments across Latin America. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Panama that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow joint U.S. military operations against criminal organizations within their borders. Guatemala has denied reaching such an agreement.
Ecuador began conducting similar joint operations with the United States in March.
President Donald Trump has described the United States as being in an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels and has defended the strikes as necessary to combat drug trafficking and prevent deadly overdoses in the U.S. His administration, however, has provided limited evidence supporting its claims that those killed were “narcoterrorists.”
The strikes have faced growing questions over their legality and effectiveness. Critics have noted that fentanyl linked to many U.S. overdose deaths is generally transported into the country over land from Mexico, where the drug is manufactured using chemicals imported from China and India.
The campaign, which began in early September, has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers and military legal experts.
The Pentagon's inspector general announced in May that it would examine whether the military followed established targeting procedures during the operations. The review is focused on the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle rather than determining whether the strikes themselves were legally authorized.
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