US strike on alleged drug boat in Eastern Pacific kills 2: SOUTHCOM

Two people were killed in a US military strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said Monday.

The April 13 strike was carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear at the direction of SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, according to a statement posted on the US social media company X’s platform.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” said the statement, without elaborating.

The command identified those killed only as two male “narco-terrorists” and said no US military personnel were harmed in the operation.

The strike is part of an ongoing US campaign targeting suspected drug trafficking networks in the Eastern Pacific.

The US military has conducted dozens of similar strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean in recent months, killing more than 150 people, according to official statements, though some experts have raised concerns over the legality of the strikes.