The US Southern Command has released a video of what it described as a “lethal kinetic” strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific as part of Operation Southern Spear. The operation reportedly killed three people.
According to news agency AFP, the death toll from such strikes has now risen to 128.
Sharing the footage on X, US Southcom confirmed the action, stating, "On Feb. 20, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed."
However, administration officials have not presented definitive evidence publicly proving that the targeted vessels were engaged in drug trafficking.
The lack of transparency has triggered heated debate over the legality of the expanding operations, which have widened from the Caribbean into the Pacific.
Last week, relatives of two Trinidadian men killed in a 2025 strike on a boat the US military claimed was carrying drugs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the US government. It marks the first such legal challenge brought against the Trump administration over its missile strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The recent action was the second reported US strike on an alleged drug boat in the region since the January 3 capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Maduro had previously alleged that the US campaign of strikes was aimed at regime change in Venezuela.
In another incident late last month, the US military carried out a strike in the eastern Pacific that killed two alleged drug traffickers.
Maduro was subsequently taken by US forces to New York, where he pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.
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