The US kills two men in another attack on a vessel allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Pacific

The US military reported the death of two people in an attack against a suspected drug trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, raising the death toll to at least 170 since the attacks began last September.

The United States Southern Command, responsible for Washington’s forces in the region, published in X that “the vessel was transiting known drug trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and participating in drug trafficking operations.”

“Two male narcoterrorists died during this action. No members of the US military were injured,” the publication stated.

CBS Files contacted US Southern Command to obtain evidence of the vessel’s drug trafficking operations.

A spokesperson responded that they rely on “a rigorous intelligence collection and analysis process, which may include multi-source intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to confirm illicit activity” before any operation.

“In this case, the vessel in question was identified through coordinated intelligence efforts as operating along established drug trafficking routes and It was determined that he participated in activities consistent with drug trafficking operations“the spokesperson said, adding: “For operational security reasons, we cannot reveal specific sources or methods.”

The latest attack comes two days after US military strikes killed five people on two vessels, also in the eastern Pacific. One person survived those attacksas reported by the United States Southern Command.

In at least six cases, people have survived attacks on suspected drug trafficking vessels, prompting efforts to find and rescue them in most cases. Authorities have suspended several of those searches, although in an October operation, two survivors were picked up by a Navy helicopter and repatriated to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia.

The military’s handling of survivors has come under intense scrutiny. During the first sea attack on September 2, two people survived the initial attack, but were killed in a second attack, prompting accusations that the latter could constitute a war crime.

Democratic lawmakers who saw video of the Sept. 2 operation sharply criticized the attack. The Defense Department and several congressional Republicans insisted that the survivors could have continued fighting, thus justifying the second attack.

The Trump administration has been attacking alleged “narcoterrorists” operating in Latin Americacalling the alleged drug traffickers “illegal combatants” and declaring before Congress that the United States is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with the cartels.

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