The U.S. military conducted a lethal strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing three people allegedly involved in narco-trafficking operations. The strike, the 55th since September, was authorized by U.S. Southern Command under Gen. Francis L. Donovan. The Pentagon claims the vessel was transiting along known drug-smuggling routes but has not provided evidence of drugs on board.
The Trump administration has justified the strikes as part of an escalated campaign against cartels, framing the actions as necessary to disrupt drug flows into the U.S. President Trump has declared the U.S. in an "armed conflict" with Latin American cartels. Critics, including some Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul, have questioned the legality and due process of the strikes, which have killed at least 186 people since September.
The strikes coincide with a heightened U.S. military presence in the region and follow the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces drug trafficking charges in New York. The Southern Command has posted videos of the strikes but declined to release identities of those killed or provide evidence of contraband.