The U.S. military launched another strike on May 26, 2026, on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one man and leaving two survivors. (U.S. Southern Command)
The U.S. military launched another strike on Tuesday on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one and leaving two survivors, U.S. Southern Command said.
SOUTHCOM posted a 19-second video on X showing a boat speeding through water before exploding into flames. The combatant command said it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the search and rescue system for the survivors.”
No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation.
The latest strike comes after the Pentagon’s internal watchdog last week announced it would launch an investigation into whether the U.S. strikes against drug boats have followed targeting guidelines.
The investigation into Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon’s name for the campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, was self-initiated and not in response to a congressional query.
Operation Southern Spear has continued despite the U.S. military’s focus on the Middle East. Strikes under the operation have increased in frequency in recent weeks after a relative lull that followed the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
The U.S. has conducted strikes that began in early September and have killed at least 194 people in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the commander of SOUTHCOM, was in Caracas for his second official visit to Venezuela, the combatant command said in a post on X. He took part in bilateral discussions with senior interim government leaders, met with U.S. Embassy leadership and staff, and observed a rapid response exercise.
