A high-speed boat, allegedly used for drug smuggling and piloted by two supposed traffickers, has been intercepted and dismantled in dramatic fashion. The vessel, traversing a notorious narco-trafficking path in the eastern Pacific, was subjected to what the military terms a “kinetic strike,” effectively meaning it was obliterated. The United States Southern Command proudly shared their successful operation on their official social media platform, X.

The statement from the command made it clear that “No U.S. military forces were harmed” during the operation. While this reassurance is appreciated, it’s worth noting that the boat posed minimal threat to the military assets involved. Personnel executing the strike were likely as secure as if they were watching a thriller at home, such as the film Clear And Present Danger. The operation appeared to involve an aerial assault, potentially using a 20mm or 30mm cannon, standard equipment for Air Force and Navy aircraft on such missions.

In the initial moments of the video shared, the boat is seen being hit, with a rapid succession of impacts extending into the water around it. This rapid fire pattern suggests the possibility of an F/A-18 jet firing its 20mm rotary cannon, although Southern Command has not disclosed specific details, nor is it necessary for them to do so.

Ultimately, the decisive action of eliminating the drug-smuggling vessel speaks for itself.

The post reads in full:

On Dec. 29, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Two male narco-terrorists were killed. No U.S. military forces were harmed.

While it’s perfectly appropriate to note that “No U.S. military forces were harmed,” we might note that the boat in question couldn’t possibly pose any harm to whatever military assets carried out this strike; the personnel in that platform were very nearly as safe from harm as they would be sitting on their own couches watching a re-run of Clear And Present Danger. It’s a guess, but from what we can glean from that rather fuzzy video, it looks like the boat was hit with shells from a 20mm or 30mm cannon. Air Force and Navy aircraft carry these cannon and routinely fly with a basic load of ammunition, we are given to understand, when carrying out operations like this. 

Note that the boat is struck in the first second, with a trail of impacts overrunning the craft, raising a trail in the water beyond. This is only a guess, but it’s a moderately-educated one. If an F/A-18 were to fire a burst from its 20mm rotary cannon, this is what it would look like. Of course, Southern Command isn’t releasing any such details, nor should they.

Just taking out the drug boats is enough.

This is the 31st suspected narco-speedboat that the War Department has detonated since President Trump resumed office. 107 suspected narcotics smugglers have been killed, with two more captured and repatriated. The boats are suspected of originating in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s El Presidente Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States of trying to start a war with these strikes. In September, he spoke with reporters in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital:

Mr. Maduro called the action “a military attack on civilians who were not at war and were not militarily threatening any country” and said the United States was trying to goad Venezuela into a “major war.” 

Venezuela would be hard-pressed, in purely military matters, to make itself a danger to the United States; even rising to the level of an annoyance would be a serious reach for the South American country. But he is right, in a sort of back-handed sense, when he claims the boats were not “militarily” threatening any country, just threatening to keep importing tons of illegal narcotics. As long as those boats keep making the attempt, we can expect to see more of them sent to the bottom.