U.S. strike kills two on alleged drug-trafficking vessel in eastern Pacific

US Forces Sink Vessel Providing At-Sea Refueling For Cartel: SOUTHCOM Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times, U.S. forces, on Aug. 28, sank a vessel in the eastern Pacific that the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said was serving as an at-sea refueling point for drug-trafficking boats. A vessel suspected of providing at-sea refueling for drug traffickers burns after being targeted by U.S. forces on Aug. 28, 2026. U.S. Southern Command SOUTHCOM, which oversees military operations in and around Central and South America, said U.S. forces worked in coordination with the government of Ecuador to track down the vessel. "Intelligence confirmed the vessel, previously identified and targeted under Department of the Treasury sanctions, was operating in support of the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," SOUTHCOM said in a press statement. Los Choneros is one of more than a dozen Latin American transnational criminal enterprises that the U.S. government has designated as a foreign terrorist organization since the start of President Donald Trump's second term. According to SOUTHCOM, U.S. Marines and sailors launched from the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio to board and search the vessel, and did so without incident. "Individuals removed from the vessel were safely escorted to Ecuador. Once cleared, U.S. forces sank the vessel," SOUTHCOM said. SOUTHCOM has since published footage purporting to show U.S. forces boarding the suspect vessel, as well as footage of the boat being destroyed in a fiery blast. "Today's operation is a stark example of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition's power to dismantle the sophisticated, clandestine narco-terrorist tactics and capabilities that have enabled the trafficking of dangerous drugs destined for American communities," SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan said of the operation. The Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, formed in March of this year, is a military partnership between the United States and other Western Hemisphere nations to disrupt cartel operations. The U.S. military had been taking a more forceful approach to disrupt cartel operations even before recruiting regional partners through the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. On Sept. 2, 2025, U.S. forces bombed a boat in the Caribbean Sea, which officials said was transporting narcotics, killing 11. It was the first in an ongoing series of strikes on drug boats. U.S. forces have struck dozens more vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in the past year. Most recently, SOUTHCOM claimed responsibility for a strike in the Caribbean on Aug. 25 that killed four people it identified as members of a drug-trafficking network. The campaign of lethal strikes on boats has met with scrutiny and criticism. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), in an Aug. 3 letter to the president, said: "A careful review of the available evidence suggests that the United States has killed individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking." A December report by Human Rights Watch described the campaign of boat strikes as a series of "extrajudicial killings." The family members of two Trinidadian nationals who have been missing since October filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States in January. The plaintiffs claimed that the two missing men had been working as migrant laborers in neighboring Venezuela, and had arranged a boat ride home to Trinidad and Tobago, but were likely killed in an Oct. 14 strike by U.S. forces. The U.S. government has not publicly identified any of the individuals they believe to have killed in these boat strikes. Tyler Durden Sun, 08/30/2026 - 21:00

(CBS NEWS) The United States military said Monday it carried out a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people. U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the strike, which took place Sunday, targeted a vessel “operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.” “Confirmed […] The post U.S. strikes alleged drug-smuggling boat in Pacific Ocean, killing 2 people appeared first on Kaieteur News.

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States military said Monday it carried out a strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people. US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the strike, which took place Sunday, targeted a vessel "operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific". "Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking," it added. "This operation is a clear and decisive reminder that SOUTHCOM is taking the fight directly to the cartels," SOUTHCOM said. Grainy black-and-white video footage accompanying the post showed a boat moving through the water before a large explosion. The US military launched operation "Southern Spear" in early September, with President Donald Trump arguing Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America. Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, according to a tally by AFP. Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking. Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.

US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugsAfter a pause of more than two months, the US military announced Monday that it once again carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs.It brings the overall death toll to 223 people killed in 67 strikes during the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing alleged drug boats off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command says the campaign has resulted in the destruction of 64 speedboats, three “low-profile” ships and a semisubmersible craft. Continue reading...

The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out a strike on another vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs in the first such attack announced in about two months.

The death count from the Trump administration's campaign of bombing boats off Latin America's Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific now exceeds 210 after more than 60 strikes.

The death toll from the Trump administration's nearly yearlong campaign of bombing boats off Latin America's Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific now exceeds 210 after more than 60 strikes.

US forces have struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs, the US military said on Monday, in the first attack announced in about two months. The death toll in the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing boats allegedly trafficking drugs now exceeds 210 after more than 60 strikes off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Forces “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established...

The death toll in the nearly year-long U.S. campaign of bombing boats allegedly trafficking drugs now exceeds 210

U.S. forces have struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs, the Department of Defense said Monday, in the first attack announced in about two months.