The United States (US) military has struck a boat, killing three people during the anti-drug operation, in the Caribbean Sea.
According to Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Commander Francis L. Donovan, the forces struck the boat after confirming that it was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean, and it was previously involved in narco-trafficking operations.
“On Feb. 13, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” read part of the statement.
Francis also confirmed the death of the three suspected narco-terrorists, adding that no U.S. military forces had been harmed during the operation.
“Three narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed.”
US Fight Against Drug Smuggling
This incident comes after an attack on Monday in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where SOUTHCOM stated that it struck a vessel, killing two people and leaving one survivor.
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However, international law and human rights experts have repeatedly argued that such attacks amount to extrajudicial executions, even if those targeted are alleged to be engaged in trafficking drugs.
“Those being killed by US military strikes at sea are denied any due process whatsoever, the Trump administration is asserting and exercising an apparently unlimited license to kill people that the president deems to be terrorists”.
Killer Strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean
The first attack by US forces on vessels in international waters, which took place in September 2025, included a follow-up strike that killed survivors who were clinging to the wreckage of a destroyed boat.
US administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the commander of the operation, Admiral Frank Bradley, were placed under scrutiny for the order to carry out the second attack on survivors.
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Although Legal experts state that the military could be involved in a crime for killing the survivors of a shipwreck, the US President Donald Trump has said the country is engaged in an armed conflict with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs to the US.
“This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” said Trump.
The US has now carried out some 38 attacks against 40 vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, killing at least 133 people.
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