US kills four more people in another drug-boat strike in eastern Pacific: 'Vessel operated by terrorist organizations'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US kills four more people in another drug-boat strike in eastern Pacific: 'Vessel operated by terrorist organizations'")
CCTV footage of US military strike on alleged drug boat Photograph: (USSouthcom/X)
US Southern Command reports a deadly strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, raising the campaign death toll to 174. The operation targets alleged “narco-terrorists,” though evidence remains undisclosed, with no US forces harmed.
The US military on Tuesday (Apr 14) said that four people had been killed in a strike on another alleged drug-trafficking boat. US Southern Command said in a post on X that the strike occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. According to AFP, the four new fatalities raise the total death toll of the military campaign to at least 174. US SOUTHCOM said that two people were killed in a strike on Monday, two strikes on Saturday had killed five people and left one survivor.
Those killed have been called "narco-terrorists" operating in Latin America, but the US administration has not provided any evidence of their claims so far. It confirmed that no US military forces were harmed in the operation.
“At the direction of SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the post on X stated.
The United States began targeting alleged smuggling boats in September 2025 with US President Donald Trump's administration insisting that its aim to root out "narco-terrorists" operating in Latin America. But the administration has not provided any definitive evidence that the vessels it has been targeting are involved in drug trafficking. This has prompted heated debate about the legality of the operations. International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States. Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, where its forces have in recent months struck alleged drug-smuggling boats, seized oil tankers and carried out a stunning raid to capture Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro's capture
In January, American forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who has been accused by Trump of smuggling drugs into the United States.
On January 3, the US military launched Operation Absolute Resolve, in which they entered Venezuela, bombed Caracas and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their presidential palace. While no US casualties in the operation, Havana authorities said that 32 Cubans were killed during the US attack on Caracas that resulted in the capture of Maduro. One Colombian was also killed. Trump has also warned Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba of a possible US military action.
