US strike on suspected drug boat in eastern Pacific killed 5
What's new: The blast adds to a campaign that has killed at least 240 people in more than 70 US military strikes since September 2025.
The U.S. military struck a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing five people, in the latest attack in the Trump administration's campaign against what it calls "narco-terrorists." U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out the strike on a go-fast boat along established trafficking routes after intelligence tied it to narcotics activity. The military did not identify those killed or release evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs. The operation expands a series of U.S. strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean that have drawn criticism from human rights groups, legal scholars and some Democratic lawmakers, who question the legality and effectiveness of using military force against suspected traffickers.