The US military attacked a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing two men, in the latest operation under a monthslong campaign by the Trump administration targeting alleged drug traffickers across Latin America.
The strike brings the total number of fatalities from US military boat interdictions to at least 207 since the administration began its offensive against those it designates as 'narcoterrorists' in early September. US Southern Command reported targeting alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes but did not provide evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs.
President Donald Trump has said the US is in 'armed conflict' with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. However, critics have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the strikes, noting that fentanyl is typically trafficked over land from Mexico.
The strikes have drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars. In a previous incident, two survivors of an initial strike were killed in a follow-up strike, which the White House said was done 'in self-defense' but some legal scholars deemed illegal.
The Pentagon's watchdog said in May it plans to investigate whether the military followed an established targeting framework, though the review will not assess the legality of the strikes.
