US strike on Pacific vessel kills two amid growing scrutiny

The United States military has carried out another lethal strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people, as Washington continues an aggressive campaign targeting boats it claims are linked to Latin American drug trafficking networks.

United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirmed the attack late Monday, saying the operation killed two “male narco-terrorists”. No evidence was provided to support the claim.

According to the command, the vessel was “⁠transiting along known narco-trafficking routes ⁠in the ⁠Eastern Pacific” and was hit with “a lethal kinetic strike” authorised by US Commander General Francis L Donovan.

Footage released alongside the statement shows a small, stationary boat with outboard engines and what appear to be fishing-related equipment nearby. Moments later, it is struck from the air and erupts into flames.

The incident follows a similar strike announced just a day earlier. On Sunday, US forces said they destroyed two boats in the same region, killing five people and leaving one survivor. SOUTHCOM said the US Coast Guard had been notified, but did not clarify what happened to the individual.

With the latest attack, the US military has now killed at least 170 people in a series of maritime strikes across the eastern Pacific and Caribbean since September.

Washington maintains that the operations are part of a broader campaign against drug trafficking cartels. But the lack of publicly presented evidence has drawn increasing criticism.

International law experts, human rights organisations and several governments in the region have accused the administration of Donald Trump of carrying out extrajudicial killings in international waters. Critics argue that many of the targeted vessels may have been civilian, including fishing crews, and did not pose an immediate threat.