WASHINGTON – US military officials said two men were killed in a lethal strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on June 3.
“Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action,” which targeted “narco-trafficking operations”, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) wrote in an X post.
Footage accompanying the post showed a boat zipping over dark waters, with part of the boat obscured by a blurry box before the strike. Then, a large explosion is seen, followed by flaming boat wreckage floating in the water.
The latest strike follows dozens of similar attacks in the US military’s operation “Southern Spear”, which has killed at least 203 people at sea since September, according to an AFP tally.
US President Donald Trump insists the United States is effectively at war with drug cartels that are operating out of Latin America, but his administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking.
Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings because they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States. AFP
