U.S. Military Conducts Fourth Drug Smuggling Boat Strike in a Week

The U.S. military announced another strike on a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific. This event occurred on Saturday and resulted in three deaths, marking the fourth such attack this week. Altogether, the death toll from these operations has reached 205.

The U.S. Southern Command reported these actions, stating that the targeted vessel participated in narco-trafficking operations and was linked to a terrorist organization, though no evidence was provided to support this claim. This strike is part of an ongoing campaign against vessels suspected of transporting drugs across the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific regions.

A released military video on social media showed the small boat in motion before being struck, resulting in an explosion. The attack adds to a series of strikes that began in September, with previous assaults reported earlier this week. The death count increased as some individuals initially thought to have survived remain missing.

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. declared an armed conflict against Latin American drug cartels, holding them accountable for the drug influx into U.S. communities. This particular strike was authorized by Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the leading U.S. commander in Latin America.

The legality of these boat strikes has been questioned by some experts. The Washington Post reported, and the White House confirmed, the occurrence of a second strike during the first attack on September 2. This ‘double tap’ resulted in the deaths of two survivors, raising questions of potential war crimes. So far, three people have survived and been rescued; two from a submarine carrying drugs returned to Ecuador and Colombia. In March, the U.S. Coast Guard also transferred a strike survivor to Costa Rica.

Earlier this year, the families of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. missile strike in the Caribbean filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. They argued that the killings were premeditated and lacked legal justification.