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U.S. Military Strikes Caribbean Vessel Suspected of Drug Smuggling, Killing Two
The attack on Sunday is the latest in a series of more than 60 U.S. strikes on vessels since early September that have killed over 210 people. U.S. Southern Command said the boat was targeted along a known drug route but released no evidence of narcotics aboard.
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The U.S. military conducted a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean on Sunday that killed two people and left six male survivors. U.S. Southern Command said the vessel was operating along a known drug-smuggling route as part of Operation Southern Spear.
The command released black-and-white video footage showing the boat struck by a projectile and engulfed in flames. The strike brings the total number of such attacks since early September to more than 60 and the total number of people killed to more than 210. Southern Command notified the U.S.
Coast Guard about the six survivors but provided no details on whether they were rescued. The military did not release evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs. A similar strike on June 16 left two survivors.
The Coast Guard suspended its search the next day after finding no signs of survivors or debris. President Donald Trump has described the United States as being in armed conflict with cartels in Latin America and has justified the strikes as necessary to stem drug flows into the United States. U.S.
Lawmakers have demanded that the Pentagon release unedited video of the first strike, which killed nine people. Two survivors of that attack were clinging to wreckage when a follow-up strike killed them. The Pentagon inspector general stated in May that it would review whether the military followed the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle, though the review does not examine the legality of the strikes.
