By Emmanuel Bobby
The U.S. military said Friday that it carried out a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean that it alleges was involved in drug trafficking, killing three people on board. The operation is part of a broader campaign targeting vessels suspected of smuggling narcotics across the Caribbean and Pacific regions.
U.S. Southern Command stated that intelligence indicated the vessel was traveling along a known drug trafficking route and was actively engaged in illicit operations. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the command said in a statement.
The strike follows a series of similar operations conducted earlier in the week. U.S. Southern Command reported that three boats were struck on Monday in the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in the deaths of 11 people. These operations are part of an expanding military campaign that began in September, during which U.S. forces have targeted dozens of boats suspected of involvement in narcotics trafficking.
Since the start of the campaign, the Department of Defense has acknowledged at least 41 boat strikes that have killed at least 134 people. The Trump administration has argued that the vessels are linked to “designated terrorist organizations” that finance their activities through drug smuggling. However, the military has not publicly released evidence detailing the identities of the people on board, the nature of the cargo, or the specific intelligence used to justify the strikes.
The campaign has drawn criticism from some members of Congress and legal experts, who have questioned the legality of using military force in international waters against suspected traffickers without clear evidence or due process. Critics argue that the strikes could violate international law and raise serious human rights concerns, especially when the identities and roles of those killed are not verified.
Legal challenges have already begun to emerge. In January, family members of two men from Trinidad who were killed in an October strike filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government. The suit alleges that the men were fishermen returning home and that the strike constituted an extrajudicial killing. The Pentagon declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing its policy of not discussing ongoing litigation.
The latest strike is likely to intensify debate over the U.S. military’s expanding role in counter-narcotics operations, the transparency of intelligence used to justify lethal force, and the broader implications for international law and civilian safety.
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