WASHINGTON, April 24 - The U.S. military said on Friday that it carried out a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing two individuals in an operation the military described as targeting narcotics traffickers.
The U.S. Southern Command stated the craft hit on Friday was operated by "Designated Terrorist Organizations," a designation the command did not further identify. It added that no U.S. military personnel were harmed during the strike and characterized those killed as "male narco-terrorists," offering no additional identifying details.
In a statement posted on X, the Southern Command said, "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." The command also released a short video clip, 16 seconds in length, that shows a vessel being struck in open waters.
The incident comes amid a series of similar deadly strikes by U.S. forces in the same region in recent weeks. U.S. strikes under the administration of President Donald Trump have targeted vessels accused by the U.S. of transporting narcotics. Officials say the operations aim to disrupt trafficking routes.
According to U.S. military figures cited in public statements, strikes on such vessels since September have resulted in more than 170 deaths. Those operations and their human cost have drawn scrutiny from experts and rights organizations both inside the United States and abroad.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have publicly described the strikes as amounting to "unlawful extrajudicial killings." The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the administration's public assertions about the groups and individuals targeted, calling those assertions "unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims."
The U.S. military's account emphasizes the intelligence assessments used to identify the vessel and justify the strike, while advocacy groups and civil liberties organizations question the legality and evidentiary basis for such lethal actions. The latest strike and the surrounding debate highlight continuing tensions between the stated objectives of counter-narcotics operations and concerns about legal and human rights standards.
Details beyond the Southern Command's statements - including the identities of those killed, the specific organizations alleged to have operated the vessel, and further operational particulars - were not provided in the military's public release.