U.S. military says strike on vessel in eastern Pacific killed two people

Saturday, April 25, 2026International AffairsWell-covered5 frames

The U.S. military said it carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 24, and two people were killed.
U.S. Southern Command said the strike was ordered by Gen. Francis L. Donovan and carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear.
According to U.S. Southern Command, intelligence assessed that the vessel was traveling along known drug-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was involved in drug-trafficking operations.
U.S. Southern Command said no U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation.
The strike was part of an ongoing U.S. campaign against boats the Trump administration accuses of smuggling drugs at sea, a campaign that began last September.
Multiple reports said the latest strike raised the reported death toll from that campaign to at least 182 people.
The latest strike has drawn attention because Reuters reported that rights groups have condemned these operations as extrajudicial killings, while U.S. officials say they are targeting maritime drug traffickers.
Public reporting left unresolved key details about the people killed and the vessel itself, including the identities of the alleged organizations involved and independent evidence supporting the U.S. allegations.

The U.S. military said it carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 24, and two people were killed.
U.S. Southern Command said the strike was ordered by Gen. Francis L. Donovan and carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear.
According to U.S. Southern Command, intelligence assessed that the vessel was traveling along known drug-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was involved in drug-trafficking operations.
U.S. Southern Command said no U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation.
The strike was part of an ongoing U.S. campaign against boats the Trump administration accuses of smuggling drugs at sea, a campaign that began last September.
Multiple reports said the latest strike raised the reported death toll from that campaign to at least 182 people.
The latest strike has drawn attention because Reuters reported that rights groups have condemned these operations as extrajudicial killings, while U.S. officials say they are targeting maritime drug traffickers.
Public reporting left unresolved key details about the people killed and the vessel itself, including the identities of the alleged organizations involved and independent evidence supporting the U.S. allegations.