The US military said on Thursday that it had killed two alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific, bringing the reported death toll from Washington’s campaign to at least 128.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was travelling along known narco-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was engaged in drug-smuggling operations,” US Southern Command said in a post on X, adding that “no US military personnel were harmed” in the operation.
The administration of President Donald Trump began targeting suspected smuggling vessels in early September, insisting it is effectively at war with alleged “narco-terrorists” operating out of Venezuela.
However, it has provided no definitive evidence that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking, prompting intense debate over the legality of the operations, which have expanded from the Caribbean into the Pacific.
Late last month, the US military carried out another strike in the eastern Pacific, killing two alleged drug traffickers.
Last week, relatives of two Trinidadian men killed last year in a strike on a vessel the military said was carrying drugs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the US government.
It is the first such case brought against the Trump administration over its missile strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
