Juan Orlando Hernández served as Honduras’s President from 2014 to 2022, consolidating power during a period which was reportedly marked by violence, corruption allegations and mass migration

Who is Juan Orlando Hernández? How US pardoned one President and captured another on narco-terror charges

<p>The US military on Wednesday (Dec 31) said that eight people were killed in multiple new strikes on alleged drug boats, bringing the death toll in Washington's campaign against what it says are narcotics traffickers to at least 115. US Southern Command, which is responsible for American forces operating in Central and South America, announced two sets of strikes, which were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, "three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy" were targeted in "international waters," it said in a statement on X.</p>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On Dec. 31, at the direction of <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecWar</a> Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and… <a href="https://t.co/4AE5u4cEff">pic.twitter.com/4AE5u4cEff</a></p>&mdash; U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/Southcom/status/2006531145844867143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<p>"Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement. The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels," it said. Accompanying the statement, posted on X, was a video showing the vessels traveling together at sea and then hit by a series of explosions. The exact location of the strikes was not immediately made clear. Previous strikes have taken place in the Caribbean or the eastern Pacific. The military said it had notified the Coast Guard to "activate the Search and Rescue system," without offering more details about the fate of those aboard the other boats.</p><h2>Trump's drug war</h2><p>In December, Trump suggested that it would be "smart" for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. He also suggested that the United States could keep and maybe even sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks, adding that America would also keep the seized ships. Maduro slammed Trump for his suggestion and urged the US president to focus on the problems plaguing his country.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The death toll amid US President Donald Trump’s campaign against drug trafficking has risen to over 115 with the recent strike. Since September, the US military has carried out more than 30 such strikes on what it says are boats used to smuggle drugs to the United States. This comes even as the Trump administration provided no evidence about the alleged drug boats, with critics questioning the legality of US military operations in international waters. Trump has maintained that he does not need congressional approval to order military strikes on Venezuelan soil. When asked directly whether lawmakers would be consulted before authorising land hits on drug cartels, Trump said he “wouldn’t mind” informing them but insisted it was “not a big deal”. He also suggested that briefing Congress could compromise operations, saying politicians “leak like a sieve.”</p>

The US military said eight more people were killed in fresh strikes on alleged drug boats, pushing the death toll past 100 since September. Conducted in international waters, the strikes under Trump’s drug war have drawn sharp criticism

The US military on Wednesday (Dec 31) said that eight people were killed in multiple new strikes on alleged drug boats, bringing the death toll in Washington's campaign against what it says are narcotics traffickers to at least 115. US Southern Command, which is responsible for American forces operating in Central and South America, announced two sets of strikes, which were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, "three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy" were targeted in "international waters," it said in a statement on X.

<p>The US military said eight more people were killed in fresh strikes on alleged drug boats, pushing the death toll past 100 since September. Conducted in international waters, the strikes under Trump’s drug war have drawn sharp criticism</p>

US military strikes 'narco-trafficking vessels' in international waters again amid Trump's drug war

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Who is Juan Orlando Hernández? How US pardoned one President and captured another on narco-terror charges

US military strikes 'narco-trafficking vessels' in international waters again