WASHINGTON – The U.S. military struck a boat suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday, killing four people as the Trump administration presses ahead with its months-long campaign against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America.
The operation raises to at least 231 the number of people killed in U.S. military boat strikes since the campaign began nearly a year ago. The deaths occurred across 69 strikes targeting individuals the Trump administration has labeled “narcoterrorists.” As it has in most statements about operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command said the latest strike hit suspected traffickers traveling along established drug-smuggling routes.
The military did not release evidence showing that the vessel was transporting narcotics. A video posted on X showed what appeared to be a boat moving across the water before a flash erupted behind it.
The Trump administration is also negotiating with allied governments to expand its campaign against criminal groups onto land in several Latin American countries. During a visit to Panama last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to permit joint U.S. military operations on their territory. Guatemala denied that such an agreement had been reached. Ecuador began carrying out similar missions with the United States in March.
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President Donald Trump has described the United States as being in “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels. He has defended the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop drugs from reaching the United States and to prevent the fatal overdoses affecting Americans. However, his administration has provided limited evidence to substantiate its claims that those killed were smugglers.
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