The U.S. military carried out a strike Thursday against a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific, killing two individuals described by officials as “narco-terrorists,” according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
SOUTHCOM released a short video on social media showing the vessel underway before it was hit in what officials called a “lethal kinetic strike,” after which the boat caught fire. The operation was conducted by Joint Task Force Southern Spear under the direction of SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.
Military officials said intelligence indicated the vessel was traveling along known drug-trafficking routes in international waters and was actively engaged in narcotics smuggling. No U.S. personnel were injured during the operation.
The strike marks the second such operation publicly disclosed by the military this year. A previous strike on Jan. 23 targeted another suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the same region, killing two people and leaving one survivor. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search-and-rescue effort that was later suspended after more than two days.
U.S. officials say the operations are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt drug-smuggling networks operating in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which the administration argues are intended to reduce the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States.
Post a Comment