The U.S. military carried out another strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Sunday, killing at least two people and leaving six survivors. The attack brings the total number of vessels hit to more than 60 and the total number of people killed to more than 210 since the operation, called Southern Spear, began in September, according to Al Jazeera.
U.S. Southern Command posted about the strike on X on Monday, saying the boat was operating along a known drug-smuggling route. SOUTHCOM did not provide evidence that the vessel was actually carrying narcotics. The post included grainy black-and-white video footage showing a boat moving through water before being struck by a projectile and engulfed in a large explosion.
SOUTHCOM said it notified the U.S. Coast Guard about the "six male survivors" without providing details of their rescue or condition. In a similar incident on June 16, U.S. Central Command said it had also notified the Coast Guard after two survivors were reported. The Coast Guard later suspended its search in that case, stating there were "no signs of survivors or debris."
President Trump has described the U.S. as being in an "armed conflict" with Latin American cartels, calling the attacks necessary to reduce drug overdoses in the United States. Critics have questioned both the legal basis and the effectiveness of the campaign. Some have noted that most fentanyl reaching the U.S. is smuggled overland from Mexico, not by sea.
The operation has drawn scrutiny from Congress. On Thursday, U.S. lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release unedited video of the very first strike conducted under the operation, after reports emerged that the military conducted a follow-up strike on survivors of its initial attack. Two men on the boat survived the first strike that killed nine others. They were clinging to wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them. The White House confirmed the follow-up strike, saying it was done in self-defense to ensure the boat was destroyed and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
Legal scholars have disputed that justification, with some saying a second strike killing survivors would have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not. The Pentagon's inspector general said in May it would review whether the military followed standard targeting procedures, but said that evaluation would not examine the legality of the strikes.
