US strike on alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific kills 2

The US military has struck a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing two men, as the Trump administration wages a months-long campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.

The latest attack on Wednesday brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 207 since the administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in early September.

As with most of the military's statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes.

A video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the water before bursting into flames.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," Southern Command said on X.

"Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No US military forces were harmed."

On June 3, 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… pic.twitter.com/wCHvnSJf3O

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 4, 2026

War on cartels

President Donald Trump has said the US is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives.

Critics have questioned both the legality and the effectiveness of the boat strikes.

The Pentagon's watchdog said in May that it plans to look into whether the US military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the strikes.

However, the evaluation focuses specifically on what's known as the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle, not on the legality of the strikes, the inspector general's office said.

___

Source: TRT