The American military has conducted the first known attack on an alleged drug vessel since Nicolas Maduro was captured
The US military carried out a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday, resulting in the deaths of two people, according to US Southern Command.
This attack is the first known strike against alleged drug-trafficking boats since US forces abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3. At least 117 people have reportedly been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of a US campaign launched in September and named Operation Southern Spear. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Washington of carrying out extrajudicial killings and warned that the strikes undermine international law and pose a threat to regional stability.
“On Jan. 23, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” US Southern Command wrote on X.
It further stated that the boat was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” and that the strike left one survivor. SOUTHCOM said it informed the Coast Guard to initiate search and rescue operations for that person.
The post was accompanied by grainy black and white aerial footage that seemed to show a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames.
According to multiple media reports and White House announcements, with the latest attack, there have been 36 known strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters since early September. The majority of these strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea.
The last reported boat strikes occurred in late December, when the military said it struck five alleged drug-smuggling boats over two days, killing a total of eight people while others jumped overboard. Days later, the Coast Guard suspended its search.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the American strikes targeting alleged smugglers are having a significant impact by slowing drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
His administration has not provided public evidence of the presence of narcotics on the boats struck, nor their connection to drug cartels.
Several Latin American and European countries have questioned the legality of using lethal force in international waters. China and Iran have condemned the campaign as unilateral and destabilizing.