US Strike Kills Two in Latest Pacific Anti-Drug Operation as Campaign Death Toll Nears 200

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Washington: The US military has carried out another strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people, according to military officials.

The operation was conducted on Wednesday and targeted a vessel that US Southern Command said was travelling along a known narcotics smuggling route. The military described those killed as “narco-terrorists,” a term it has used throughout its ongoing campaign against alleged drug traffickers.

It was the second deadly strike in as many days, part of an intensified US military operation that began in September under the Trump administration and has now resulted in nearly 200 deaths, according to media tallies.

The US Southern Command said earlier that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking, although officials have not publicly provided detailed evidence to support the claims. In previous incidents, the military has released short video clips showing boats being struck at sea.

In Tuesday’s separate strike, two other individuals survived and were left in the water before the US Coast Guard was alerted to carry out a rescue operation, officials said.

Rights groups and legal experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the campaign, arguing that the strikes may amount to extrajudicial killings if those targeted were not posing an immediate threat.

The US government has defended the operations as part of a wider effort to disrupt drug cartels it says are responsible for trafficking narcotics into the United States, calling the mission a necessary escalation in the fight against organised crime in the region.