The United States military has confirmed it carried out another strike on a vessel suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. This marks the third such attack this week, pushing the overall death toll past 200 people since the campaign began.
Details of the Latest Strike
U.S. Southern Command announced the operation on Friday, describing the vessel as being engaged in narco-trafficking operations and operated by a designated terrorist organization. As with previous announcements, no evidence was provided to support these claims. The military's social media posts typically include video footage of the attacks, and this instance appears to be the first to feature color video instead of black and white. The footage shows a small boat floating on the ocean before being struck and engulfed in a fireball, followed by images of the vessel in flames surrounded by a large plume of parcels or other objects scattered in the water.
Escalating Campaign
The attack brings the total number of fatalities to 202 from a series of U.S. strikes that began in early September. Two other attacks were announced earlier this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Trump administration has declared that the United States is in an armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels, accusing them of being responsible for the flow of drugs into American communities.
U.S. Southern Command stated in a post on X that the strike was conducted at the direction of General Francis L. Donovan, the top U.S. commander in Latin America. On Friday, General Donovan also met with Cuban military leaders near the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay.
