U.S.
US forces strike an alleged drug boat in Eastern Pacific, killing 6
From staff and wire reports
March 9, 2026
The U.S. military said it killed six men on March 8, 2026, in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Southern Command)
The U.S. military on Sunday conducted its first strike on an alleged drug boat in two weeks, killing six men in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign against alleged traffickers has risen to at least 157 people since the the strikes began in early September.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command said in a statement.
SOUTHCOM did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. It posted a video on X that showed a small boat being blown up as it floated on the water.
No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation.
President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”
The U.S. resumed strikes in late January after largely backing off in the region following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.
Trump said at a regional summit in Doral, Fla., on Saturday that the U.S. and Latin American countries are collaborating to combat cartels and encouraged the use of military force.
“The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” Trump said at the “Shield of the Americas” summit. “We have to use our military. You have to use your military.”
The summit came a day after U.S. Southern Command said it supported Ecuadorian forces in operations against “Designated Terrorist Organizations” within the country.
“This collaborative and decisive action is a strategic success for all nations in the Western Hemisphere committed to disrupting and defeating narcoterrorism,” Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the commander of SOUTHCOM, said according to a command post on X.
Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U.S. over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.
Contributing: The Associated Press