US strike kills two on alleged drug boat, US says

The United States military said Monday that it killed two people in a strike on a boat it alleged was trafficking drugs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

US Southern Command said on X that the Sunday strike targeted a vessel “operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.” It said “confirmed intelligence” showed the vessel was actively involved in drug trafficking.

SOUTHCOM posted black-and-white video footage showing a boat moving through the water before a large explosion.

The strike came amid Washington's campaign against drug cartels operating out of Latin America. President Donald Trump has argued that the United States is effectively at war with the cartels.

More than 200 people have been killed in US strikes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since the launch of operation “Southern Spear,” according to an AFP tally. Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has struck were involved in drug trafficking. Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.