U.S. Military Boat Strikes Target Suspected Drug Vessels in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific

The U.S. military has carried out strikes on small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific for 10 months as part of an effort to stop drug shipments. The administration states the campaign has produced a 92 percent drop in seaborne shipments. General Francis L.

Donovan, head of Southern Command, told lawmakers earlier this year that boat strikes are one tool among many in counter-narcotics efforts. Senators Rand Paul and Tim Kaine questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month about the criteria used to select targets.

A February 2025 Justice Department memo directed prosecutors to remove low-level suspects from the United States rather than pursue cases. Since April 1 of last year, the Coast Guard has repatriated 187 suspected smugglers, according to Commander Steven Roth.

Previously, the Coast Guard brought such suspects to the United States for prosecution. The change means detected smugglers now either face a missile strike or repatriation without facing U.S. courts.

Cocaine prices on U.S. streets have fallen to the lowest levels in more than 30 years in some markets. Data from the Street Drug Analysis Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill show cocaine purity has risen slightly since the strikes began.

The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel prepared a secret memo last July to justify the strikes. Some former government lawyers have compared the memo to post-9/11 legal opinions on interrogation methods that were later withdrawn. John F. Tobon, a former Homeland Security Investigations official, called the pardon a betrayal of agents and prosecutors who worked on the case.