U.S. Military Strikes Narco-Trafficking Vessel in International Waters

The U.S. military carried out a strike Friday on a vessel engaged in narco-trafficking operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three individuals and bringing the total death toll from the campaign above 200. U.S. Southern Command announced the action, stating that the vessel "was engaged in narco-trafficking operations" and was "operated by a designated terrorist organization."

Southern Command said in its post on X that the strike was conducted at the direction of Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the top U.S. commander in Latin America. Donovan met Friday with Cuban military leaders near the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay. The command released video of the strike, which for the first time appeared in color rather than black and white.

The footage shows a small vessel floating in the ocean before it is struck and engulfed in a fireball, cutting to an image of the boat in flames surrounded by a large plume of parcels or other objects in the water.

The latest strike follows two others announced on Tuesday and Wednesday. The campaign of strikes began in early September. The death toll rose slightly this week after some individuals initially reported as survivors were not found. The Trump administration has declared that the United States is in an armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels, which it says are behind the flow of drugs into American communities.

The vessels' operators have not been publicly identified by the U.S. government. No publicly released evidence has documented the specific terrorist organization affiliation in the Friday strike. Cuba's foreign ministry has not commented as of Friday. The Pentagon has described the actions as "lethal action against suspected drug traffickers" in prior statements.