The United States military executed a deadly operation on Wednesday targeting a boat implicated in drug smuggling activities across the Eastern Pacific. According to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), the strike resulted in the deaths of two individuals identified as “narco-terrorists.”
“On June 3, under the orders of Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a lethal kinetic assault on a vessel operated by organizations classified as terrorists,” SOUTHCOM announced in a social media update.
Intelligence reports confirmed that the targeted vessel was traveling through well-known drug trafficking channels in the Eastern Pacific and was actively involved in such operations.
The military confirmed that the strike neutralized two suspected narco-terrorists, though SOUTHCOM did not comment on the possibility of any survivors.
Footage released by U.S. Southern Command captures the moments leading up to the strike on the suspected drug-trafficking vessel during the operation in the Eastern Pacific.
No U.S. military personnel were injured, the command added.
SOUTHCOM also released a brief video showing a vessel speeding through the water before erupting in flames.
The latest strike brings the number of people killed in U.S. military operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels to at least 207 since the Trump administration launched a broad campaign aimed at dismantling cartel-linked trafficking networks in September, according to The Associated Press.
A suspected drug-trafficking vessel erupts in flames following a U.S. military strike, according to U.S. Southern Command. (U.S. Southern Command)
Wednesday’s strike followed a series of similar operations in recent weeks.
On Saturday, the U.S. military struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing three suspected narco-terrorists, according to SOUTHCOM.
A separate strike Friday killed three men, while another operation last Wednesday killed two, the military said.
Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, directed the operation that targeted a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific, according to SOUTHCOM. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
SOUTHCOM also carried out a strike last Tuesday that reportedly killed one person and left two survivors.
Earlier in May, the command said an operation in the Eastern Pacific killed two alleged narco-terrorists and left one survivor.
The military has released brief videos and statements describing the vessels as tied to designated terrorist organizations, but it has generally not publicly released evidence identifying those killed or proving the vessels were carrying drugs. The campaign has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers, legal experts and human rights groups who question the legal basis for using lethal military force against suspected traffickers outside a traditional battlefield.
The Eastern Pacific and Caribbean remain major corridors for narcotics trafficking, with cartels frequently using small, fast-moving vessels to transport drugs toward the United States and Central America.
Officials said the vessel was linked to designated terrorist organizations and engaged in narcotics-trafficking operations. (U.S. Southern Command)
SOUTHCOM oversees U.S. military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions aimed at disrupting trafficking networks tied to transnational criminal organizations.
The video released Wednesday was in black and white, similar to most footage previously shared by SOUTHCOM.
Last week, however, the military posted what appeared to be its first color video showing a strike against a suspected drug-trafficking vessel.
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