By Ginika Igboke
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said it carried out airstrikes against five drug-smuggling vessels over a two-day period this week, killing eight people and forcing surviving occupants to abandon their boats in international waters. The agency confirmed the operations Wednesday in two statements posted on X.
According to SOUTHCOM, the strikes occurred on Dec. 30 and Dec. 31 and are part of a broader campaign targeting narcotics trafficking routes in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The operations fall under Operation Southern Spear, an intensified U.S. military effort aimed at disrupting drug-smuggling networks supplying illegal narcotics to the United States.
In one of the strikes conducted Tuesday, SOUTHCOM said three of the vessels were traveling together as a convoy along known trafficking routes. U.S. officials said intelligence assessments identified the boats as being operated by designated terrorist organizations involved in narcotics trafficking.
The U.S. military reported that intelligence confirmed narcotics transfers had taken place between the three vessels before the strike. After the first boat was hit—killing three men aboard—the remaining occupants reportedly jumped into the water and swam away from their vessels. Subsequent strikes destroyed the other two boats, according to SOUTHCOM.
A video released by the command shows the three boats moving in close formation prior to the first strike, followed by footage of airstrikes on the remaining vessels. After the attacks, SOUTHCOM said it notified the U.S. Coast Guard to initiate search-and-rescue operations for individuals who abandoned their boats.
The second strike, carried out earlier in the week, targeted two additional drug-smuggling boats, bringing the total number of vessels destroyed in the two-day period to five. SOUTHCOM said eight people were killed across both incidents.
U.S. officials estimate that since September, at least 110 suspected narco-traffickers have been killed in similar strikes targeting drug boats operating in international waters.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly characterized the operations in the Pacific and Caribbean as a necessary national defense measure, arguing that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with powerful drug cartels. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, citing its role in tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year.
The administration has also increased the U.S. military presence in the region, intensifying pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government. U.S. officials have accused Maduro’s regime of narcoterrorism and facilitating drug trafficking, allegations Maduro has denied.
On Monday, the United States announced it had struck a dock facility in Venezuela that officials said was linked to narcotics operations. Trump referenced the strike during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago.
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump said. “We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area—it’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement, and that is no longer around.”
In parallel with military actions, the administration has expanded economic pressure on Venezuela. Trump has ordered sanctions on oil tankers traveling to and from the country and authorized the seizure of vessels accused of violating those restrictions. Two tankers were seized earlier this month, and on Wednesday, the United States announced new sanctions targeting four additional companies and oil tankers with alleged ties to Venezuela.
On Dec. 22, Trump said the United States would either retain or sell the oil seized from tankers intercepted off Venezuela’s coast, underscoring the administration’s commitment to combining military, economic, and legal tools to combat narcotics trafficking networks in the region.
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