Americas
Latest US strike on alleged drug boat kills 2
Stars and Stripes
April 14, 2026
The U.S. military has conducted another strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 13, 2026. (U.S. Southern Command)
The U.S. military has conducted another strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, leaving two dead, U.S. Southern Command said.
After Monday’s attack, the death toll since the campaign began in early September has reached at least 170.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narcotrafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was engaged in narcotrafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement.
SOUTHCOM posted an 18-second video showing the strike. No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation.
Monday’s attack follows strikes against two boats in the eastern Pacific on Saturday.
Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon’s name for the campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, continues despite the U.S. military’s focus on the Middle East and the conflict with Iran.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump designated several drug cartels as terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. His administration has asserted that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with cartels and will treat their members as “unlawful combatants.” The administration, however, has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”