By Roberto Bustamante
The US military launched an attack on Friday against a ship accused of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific, causing the death of two peopleaccording to the United States Southern Command.
No members of the US military were injured in the operation, it said in a statement issued late Friday.
The United States Southern Command shared A video shows a boat floating in the water before an explosion set it on fire. He said the attack targeted suspected drug traffickers along known smuggling routes.
On April 24, on the path of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Job Power Southern Spear conducted a deadly kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel became transiting alongside known… pic.twitter.com/FRHwqXsHm2
— US Southern Affirm (@Southcom) April 25, 2026
The Trump administration’s campaign to destroy vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking in Latin American waters has left at least 183 dead since September.
Attacks have also occurred in the Caribbean Sea. The military has not presented evidence that any of the vessels were transporting drugs.
The attacks began as the United States reinforced its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months before the January operation that captured then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
President Trump has declared that the United States is in “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States.
Keep reading:
–Three dead in US attack on boat in the Caribbean allegedly related to drug trafficking.
– The US killed 14 people in 5 attacks on suspected drug vessels in less than a week.
