Americas
US strike against alleged drug boat in Caribbean kills 3
Stars and Stripes
April 20, 2026
The U.S. military continued its campaign against suspected narcotraffickers on Sunday, April 19, 2026, launching another strike on a boat in the Caribbean that killed three people, U.S. Southern Command said. (U.S. Southern Command)
The U.S. military continued its campaign against suspected narcotraffickers on Sunday, launching another strike on a boat in the Caribbean that killed three people, U.S. Southern Command said.
The strikes, which began in early September, have killed at least 181 people in total in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narcotrafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narcotrafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement.
SOUTHCOM posted an 11-second video showing the strike. No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation.
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. Sunday’s strike was the fifth in eight days.
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.”