US Military Strikes Drug Trafficking Boat in Eastern Pacific, Kills One

Photo credit: US Southern Command/X

The US military struck a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday that it said was being used for drug trafficking. According to the US Southern Command, one person was killed and two others survived the attack.

The operation is part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on "narcoterrorists" using sea routes in Latin America to smuggle drugs.

Sharing details of the operation on X, the US military wrote: “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

According to the command, “One male narco-terrorists was killed during this action, and there were two male survivors.”

A released video showed a boat travelling across open waters before being struck and bursting into flames.

The latest attack brings the number of people killed in US military boat strikes to at least 208 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls ‘narcoterrorists’ in September.

Southern Command said it ‘immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors. No U.S. military forces were harmed.’

AP reported that, as with previous military statements on operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the southern command said it targeted suspected traffickers operating along known smuggling routes. However, the military did not provide evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs at the time of the strike.

The operation comes as the US President continues to frame the fight against Latin American cartels as an ‘armed conflict’. Trump has argued that military action is necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and curb overdose deaths.

However, AP noted that the administration has offered limited public evidence to support its claims that those killed in the strikes were ‘narcoterrorists’.

The campaign has also faced growing criticism from lawmakers and legal experts. Critics have questioned both the legality and effectiveness of the strikes, arguing that fentanyl responsible for many overdose deaths in the United States is primarily trafficked over land through Mexico, where it is manufactured using chemicals imported from China and India.

AP also recalled controversy surrounding one of the earliest strikes in September. Two men initially survived an attack that killed nine others and were reportedly clinging to the wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them.

The White House later defended the follow-up strike, saying it was carried out ‘in self-defence’ to ensure the vessel was destroyed and complied with the laws of armed conflict.

Some legal scholars, quote by AP, however, argued that a second strike on survivors would have been unlawful regardless of whether an armed conflict existed.

The scrutiny has prompted official review. The Pentagon's watchdog announced in May that it would examine whether the military followed its established targeting framework while conducting the strikes. The review will assess adherence to the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle, though the watchdog clarified that it will not evaluate the legality of the operations themselves.