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The U.S. military killed five people in an eastern Pacific strike on an alleged drug boat, bringing the total death toll from these operations to at least 240.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
The U.S. military said it attacked a boat it accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, killing five people. This latest attack brings the number of people killed by the U.S. military’s boat strikes to at least 240 in more than 70 strikes. The Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in September 2025.
U.S. Southern Command stated that it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. According to the command, “intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narcotrafficking.” However, the military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. A video posted on X showed a small boat in the water before it was enveloped by an explosion.
President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America. He has sought to justify the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. The administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”
Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness. This criticism is partly because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U.S. over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.
The attacks have drawn intense scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars. The Pentagon’s watchdog said in May that it plans to look into whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the lethal operations. This framework includes a military commander’s intent, target development and execution. However, the evaluation will not probe the legality of the strikes.
Tuesday’s strike is among a few that have followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s pledge in September to seek the approval of U.S. allies in the region for carrying out such attacks. Rubio told reporters that while the U.S. has “the capacity to act unilaterally,” it would rather work with its allies because that is “the most effective way to do it.”
Rubio’s statements in Peru last month appeared to signal a shift in strategy. However, Rubio also said the U.S. military would “still blow up ships if need be” and the approach would be “a strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation determination.”
The strike highlights the ongoing tension between the Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged traffickers and legal challenges regarding the use of lethal force. While the administration asserts an armed conflict exists, critics and watchdogs are examining whether established military targeting frameworks are being followed, even as the total death toll from these operations continues to rise.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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