WASHINGTON: The United States military said it carried out a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three people, in what officials described as the latest operation targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels in international waters.
In a statement, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees US military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, said the attack took place Friday along a “known narco-trafficking route” and was conducted as a “lethal kinetic strike.” No evidence was publicly provided to support allegations that those killed were involved in drug trafficking.
The incident adds to a series of maritime strikes conducted under the administration of Donald Trump, with reports indicating that dozens of operations since September have resulted in more than 100 deaths, drawing scrutiny from regional leaders, legal experts and human rights advocates.
Critics have questioned the legality of the campaign, arguing that attacks carried out in international waters may violate international law and amount to extrajudicial killings. Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, said US military announcements describing such strikes could amount to admissions of unlawful killings and called for accountability.
Officials in the administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have also faced criticism over earlier operations, including allegations that follow-up strikes targeted survivors of damaged vessels — claims that legal experts say, if proven, could constitute war crimes.
The US military has defended the operations as necessary to disrupt transnational drug trafficking networks, though analysts note that most illicit fentanyl entering the United States is smuggled over land routes rather than by sea.