U.S. Military Strikes Suspected Drug Boats; Criticism on Effectiveness, Legality

The U.S. military has conducted strikes on 54 suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean since September under Operation Southern Spear, resulting in more than 185 deaths. The latest strike occurred on April 26 in the Pacific, killing three people.

The administration states that these actions target members of at least 24 cartels and criminal gangs, though it has not named them. President Trump has stated that the strikes have reduced drugs entering the U.S. by sea by 97 percent and saved more than 1 million American lives.

He has described each boat as responsible for an average of 25,000 deaths. Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs Joseph Humire told Congress in March that the operations led to a 20 percent reduction in drug vessel movements in the Caribbean and a 25 percent reduction in the Eastern Pacific.

Customs and Border Protection data shows cocaine seizures at U.S. borders and coasts increased from 38,000 pounds in the seven months before the strikes to 44,000 pounds in the seven months after. The Coast Guard announced record-setting interdictions of over 215,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific since last August under Operation Pacific Viper.

Coast Guard spokesperson Brandon Hillard stated that narco-terrorists continue to traffic large quantities of illicit narcotics. Wholesale cocaine prices remain stable, with a recent seizure of 1.2 tons valued at $19.3 million, equating to about $16,500 per kilogram.

Retired Rear Adm. William Baumgartner said this pricing does not reflect a significant reduction in supply, as a 97 percent drop would cause prices to skyrocket. Millennium Health reported stimulant use, including cocaine, detected in urine samples at nearly twice the rate of fentanyl in 2025.

Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at Washington Office on Latin America, said the strikes have had no impact on drug flows toward the U.S., noting the increased seizures suggest trafficking continues undeterred. Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, described claims of major reductions as invented or based on disingenuous numbers.

Trump has stated that the targeted vessels traffic fentanyl, describing scenes of the drug floating in bags after strikes. However, Rep. , said officials admitted in closed-door briefings that the boats do not transport fentanyl, offering explanations she found unconvincing.

Baumgartner added that fentanyl is produced in the U.S. or Mexico and has not been smuggled from South America by boat.

“I have not seen any evidence that fentanyl has ever been smuggled from South America to the United States," — Retired Rear Adm. William Baumgartner (The Intercept). Humire claimed the operations contributed to a nearly 20 percent drop in deadly drug overdoses as early as September 2025 compared to the previous year, and a 56 percent reduction in fentanyl flow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 70,000 drug overdose deaths for the 12-month period ending in November 2025. Experts, including Baumgartner, called linking the strikes to overdose reductions misleading, as the operations target cocaine, not fentanyl, which accounts for most overdoses. CBP fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border have declined since 2023, with halfway through fiscal year 2026 showing about half the total for 2025. Jacobs noted that 99 percent of fentanyl enters through legal ports by U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.”

Lawmakers and experts have criticized the strikes as illegal extrajudicial killings, arguing the military cannot target civilians without an imminent threat. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the long-term objectives and evidence of reduced drug flows.

Sen. , pressed Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the legal justification for striking boats in international waters without evidence of narcotics.

“What legal justification could there possibly be that would allow the U.S. military to strike boats in international waters and kill the occupants of those boats without a showing of evidence that there’s narcotics on those boats?" — Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. (The Intercept). Isacson described the actions as gross human rights violations, similar to extrajudicial executions. Military briefers have admitted they cannot meet evidentiary standards to prosecute survivors, leading to repatriation or abandonment. War Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on X in February that some top cartel traffickers ceased operations indefinitely due to the strikes, though the Pentagon has not named them.”

Critics argue the administration misconstrues drug trafficking as a military issue rather than a business, with no command structure to surrender. Tree said even if some traffickers exit, replacements will emerge due to economic incentives. Jacobs emphasized there is no military solution to an economic problem.

The administration has granted clemency to around 100 people accused of drug-related crimes, including former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of smuggling 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. Republican Sen. Drug enforcement efforts have seen reductions, with DEA staff dropping by about 6 percent since 2024, over 5,000 FBI and DEA agents reassigned to immigration, and federal drug trafficking prosecutions at their lowest in over two decades.

The Justice Department scuttled its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces last year. Following the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of Maduro, the puppet regime includes Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, previously indicted in the U.S. for drug trafficking.