Pacific Strike Kills Five; Campaign Reaches 240
U.S. Southern Command says it has conducted more than 70 strikes since the campaign began, with at least 240 deaths recorded.
By Riya Zhao ·
Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere hit a go-fast vessel in the eastern Pacific on Oct. 27, operating under orders from U.S. Southern Command. The military identified the five people killed aboard as narco-terrorists. Video released afterward shows the vessel on the water before it detonates into a fireball.
U.S. Southern Command said confirmed intelligence tied the vessel to drug trafficking, and that the boat was moving along routes used by smuggling networks. The command did not provide coordinates beyond placing the incident in the eastern Pacific, nor did it identify the dead or state what cargo the vessel carried.
The operation adds to a strike count that has reached more than 70 since the campaign opened under the Trump administration. At least 240 people have died in those strikes, according to The Associated Press. U.S. Southern Command has released footage of its personnel boarding boats, taking crews off them, and sinking the hulls.
Military statements have described those aboard as narco-terrorists or linked them to designated terrorist organizations. The Associated Press reported that the government has generally not named the people killed, nor presented evidence that the intercepted vessels were carrying narcotics.
Lawmakers, legal scholars, and human rights organizations have raised questions about the legal footing for using lethal force against suspected traffickers outside a traditional war zone. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the U.S. prefers to run counter-narcotics operations alongside regional partners and under their laws. He acknowledged the country holds "the capacity to act unilaterally," adding that working with allies is "the most effective way to do it." He also said the military would "still blow up ships if need be," and that calls would come on "a strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation" basis.
SOUTHCOM's operations span Latin America and the Caribbean. No further details about the vessel's cargo or the identities of the five killed were released.
