The U.S. said Monday that it hit a vessel allegedly transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing two people and leaving one survivor in the second such strike in the past four days.
Citing “intelligence,” U.S. Southern Command said Monday on X that the vessel “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
“Two narco-terrorists were killed and one survived the strike,” it said, adding that the Coast Guard was activated for search-and-rescue operations.
The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. largely eased off attacks on boats in the region after the Jan. 3 arrest and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. Maduro, who is being held in a New York jail, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which include narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.
The U.S. renewed the boat strikes in late January.
The Trump administration has argued that the dozens of strikes, which began in September and have killed at least 120 people, are necessary to help stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who met with President Donald Trump last week, has repeatedly decried the U.S. strikes in the region, comparing them to war crimes. Colombian citizens have been injured or killed in previous strikes.
