US Military Kills Two in First Eastern Pacific Drug Boat Strike in Months

United States forces conducted a lethal strike on a low-profile vessel in the eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing two people the military described as involved in drug trafficking. It was the first such operation announced since late June.

US Southern Command stated that Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed the strike after intelligence confirmed the boat’s role in narco-trafficking along established routes. The two individuals were killed in the action.

The strike resumes a campaign that began nearly a year ago and has resulted in at least 223 deaths across 67 vessel strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The operations were initially linked to efforts surrounding the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and have continued with regional partners.

General Francis L. Donovan, commander of Southern Command, said the task force exists “to accelerate, synchronize, and execute lethal actions against these destabilizing narco-terrorist networks.”

A two-month pause in strikes followed major earthquakes in the region that diverted resources. Critics, including some narcotics experts, have questioned the long-term impact of the boat strikes on cocaine flows into the United States.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently noted agreements with Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras for joint operations against criminal groups on land.