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U.S. Military Strikes Narco-Trafficking Vessel in Eastern Pacific, Killing Three
The attack was the fourth this week in a series that began in early September and has now killed 205 people. U.S. Southern Command said the vessel was engaged in narco-trafficking.
May 31, 11:29 AM·1m read5 sources
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U.S. military forces carried out a strike on Saturday on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men. The attack was the fourth this week and the second in as many days. The cumulative death toll from the series of strikes that began in early September now stands at 205.
U.S. Southern Command stated the vessel was engaged in narco-trafficking operations and operated by a designated terrorist organization. The command provided no evidence for those allegations. Video released by the military shows a small vessel moving in the ocean before it is hit and engulfed in a fireball.
Attacks were also announced on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The death toll rose slightly this week because some people initially reported as survivors have not been found. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along narco-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific.
U.S. Southern Command said the Saturday strike came at the direction of Gen. Francis L. Gen. Francis L. U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay on Friday. The first attack occurred on Sept. 2. U.S. Conducted a follow-on strike that killed two survivors of the initial strike.
Only three people are known to have survived strikes and then been rescued. Two survivors were rescued from a narco sub in October and returned to Ecuador and Colombia.
U.S. Coast Guard recovered a survivor of a strike that killed two others and transferred the survivor to Costa Rican authorities. The strikes are part of a monthslong campaign against alleged drug boats traversing the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.
U.S. is at armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels. U.S. missile strike on a boat in the Caribbean sued the Trump administration in federal court.
The lawsuit argues the premeditated and intentional killings lack any plausible legal justification. Some lawmakers have questioned whether the follow-on strike constituted a war crime. The legality of the boat strikes has come under scrutiny by experts.
