US Strike on Suspected Drug Boat Leaves Two Dead, One Survivor

email: online@newsofbahrain.com 

Washington: The US Southern Command said US forces carried out a ‘lethal kinetic strike’ on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific, leaving two people dead and one survivor.

Following the strike, authorities said they alerted the US Coast Guard to launch search and rescue operations. The Coast Guard later recovered two bodies and one survivor, who were handed over to authorities in Costa Rica.

The operation is part of an ongoing campaign under President Donald Trump targeting what the administration describes as ‘narcoterrorists’ operating along major drug trafficking routes in Latin America.

US officials said the vessel was suspected of being involved in drug smuggling, although no evidence was publicly released to confirm the claim. A video shared by the military showed a boat engulfed in flames following the strike.

The latest incident brings the reported death toll from similar US strikes at sea to at least 159 since the campaign began in September.

The operations have drawn criticism from international law experts, who question both the legality and effectiveness of targeting suspected traffickers at sea. Concerns have also been raised about the treatment of survivors, with some warning such actions could violate established laws of armed conflict.

The Pentagon maintains that the strikes are necessary to curb the flow of drugs into the United States, though critics argue that much of the narcotics trade, particularly fentanyl, enters the country via land routes through Mexico.

The debate continues as the US expands its military approach to tackling organised crime in the region.