US military operation in the eastern Pacific Ocean resulted in the deaths of two alleged drug traffickers on Thursday, according to an official statement. This action raises the total fatalities from Washington’s ongoing campaign to a minimum of 128.
US Southern Command confirmed the strike in a post on the social media platform X.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the command stated, adding that “no US military forces were harmed” during the engagement.
Trump administration initiated the targeting of suspected smuggling vessels in early September, declaring an effective war against alleged “narco-terrorists” operating from Venezuela.
However, the administration has yet to publicly provide definitive evidence linking the individual boats it engages to drug trafficking.
This lack of publicly disclosed proof has ignited a vigorous debate concerning the legality of the military operations, which have now extended from their original theatre in the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean.
The strike follows a similar engagement late January in the same region, which also killed two alleged traffickers.
The campaign faces growing legal scrutiny. Last week, relatives of two Trinidadian men killed in a similar strike last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the US government.
The military had asserted that boat was carrying drugs. This case marks the first legal challenge of its kind brought against the Trump administration concerning its missile strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
