US conducts another boat strike in Pacific on Hegseth's order, kills 8 'male narco-terrorists'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US conducts another boat strike in Pacific on Hegseth's order, kills 8 'male narco-terrorists'")
US boat strike Photograph: (X/SecWar)
US Southern Command struck three suspected drug-smuggling vessels in international waters, killing eight men. As part of Trump’s anti-cartel campaign, over 90 suspects have died. Despite backlash and war crime concerns, the administration defends the strikes as lawful.
The US Southern Command said on Monday (Dec 15) that it carried out strikes on three vessels in international waters, killing eight men. It said that the operation was carried out on narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. In his war against drug cartels, the United States struck more than 20 vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. At least 90 suspected drug smugglers have been killed in the process. Despite criticism, the Trump administration, including the US president, have defended the legality of the strikes. The strikes are also seen as the precursor to US land strikes on Venezuela that Trump has said will soon start.
"Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking," the military said in a post on X. "Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters earlier this month.
Also read: Did Hegseth order killing of drug-boat survivors amid Venezuela conflict? Trump breaks silence
The Trump administration continues with the boat strikes even as it is dealing with a massive controversy over killing of boat survivors by conducting second strike, earlier in September. Calls have been made for Hegseth to testify under oath about the second strike. While he called initial reports about the second strike “fake”, the White House, later, named Admiral Frank Bradley as the person who authorised the second strike. Legal experts, including Senator Tim Kaine, have suggested that firing on shipwrecked or incapacitated survivors could constitute a war crime. Lawmakers from both parties are demanding the release of unedited video footage of the September 2 attack.
