The US military has carried out another strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, killing three men and bringing the total death toll above 200 since the campaign began in September. This is the third attack this week, with two others announced on Tuesday and Wednesday.
US Southern Command stated that the vessel was engaged in narco-trafficking and operated by a designated terrorist organisation, but provided no evidence. The strike was ordered by General Francis L Donovan, the top US commander in Latin America, who also met with Cuban military leaders near Guantánamo Bay on Friday.
The military released colour video of the attack for the first time, showing a small boat engulfed in a fireball after being hit. The Trump administration has declared an armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels, blaming them for the flow of drugs into the US. However, critics question the legality of the strikes, with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International calling them unlawful extrajudicial killings.
The American Civil Liberties Union has described the administration's assertions as unsubstantiated and fear-mongering. The lack of definitive evidence linking the vessels to drug trafficking has sparked debate over the operations' legality.
