On Sunday, the U.S. military reported executing a deadly operation against a boat in the Caribbean suspected of carrying drug traffickers, resulting in the deaths of two individuals.
According to the U.S. Southern Command, the mission involved a “lethal kinetic strike” against a vessel managed by groups identified as Designated Terrorist Organizations, following directives from the Southern Command’s commander, Marine Corps General Francis L. Donovan.
The military stated, based on gathered intelligence, that the ship was navigating well-known drug trafficking routes within the Caribbean while participating in narcotic smuggling operations.
The U.S. military action on the vessel in the Caribbean occurred on June 21, 2026. (Provided by U.S. Southern Command)
Alongside the two fatalities, there were six men who survived the strike.
“Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors,” the military said.
This is the latest attack that the Trump administration has said was launched in an attempt to eliminate alleged narco-terrorists, with the death toll in these strikes carried out since September sitting at more than 200.
The military claimed, citing intelligence, that the vessel “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” (U.S. Southern Command)
The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed in the strikes since last fall or provide evidence of drugs on board.
The administration has been scrutinized in recent months over the strikes by Democrats and even some Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.
RAND PAUL SAYS GOP COLLEAGUES ‘DON’T GIVE A S‑‑T ABOUT THESE PEOPLE IN THE BOATS’: THEY ‘SAY THEY’RE PRO-LIFE’
The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed in the strikes since last fall or provide evidence of drugs on board. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
“I look at my colleagues who say they’re pro-life, and they value God’s inspiration in life, but they don’t give a s‑‑- about these people in the boats,” Paul said in January. “Are they terrible people in the boats? I don’t know. They’re probably poor people in Venezuela and Colombia.”
The senator previously cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.
The attacks have also been denounced by human rights groups as “extrajudicial killings.”