US Hits Another Suspected Drug Boat in Pacific, Kills 3

The US military on Saturday carried out its 21st strike in recent weeks on a vessel it claims was transporting narcotics, killing three people in the Eastern Pacific, according to US Southern Command. The incident took place in international waters and targeted a boat linked to what officials described as a "Designated Terrorist Organization." Authorities did not name the group or specify the vessel's origin, CBS News reports. A video shared by SOUTHCOM indicated the boat was traveling along a well-known drug trafficking route. The video appears to show the boat going up in flames after the strike, NBC News reports.

This latest strike comes as the US continues to bolster its military presence in the region, highlighted by the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford—the world's largest and the US Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier—in the Caribbean Sea over the weekend, a move a military official says could set the stage for potential military action against Venezuela. Southern Command oversees US military operations in both the Caribbean and South America. The Trump administration maintains that the increased military activity is aimed at disrupting the flow of drugs into the United States, though it has not provided evidence to substantiate claims that those targeted are "narco-terrorists."

Critics—including regional leaders, the United Nations' human rights chief, and members of Congress from both parties—have questioned the legal basis for the strikes and called for greater transparency about who is being targeted. Since September, US forces have reportedly hit at least 22 vessels suspected of carrying drugs from South America to the US, resulting in at least 83 deaths.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has labeled the broader anti-trafficking campaign as Operation Southern Spear. President Trump has defended the boat attacks by asserting that the US is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels and that the targeted boats are operated by foreign terrorist organizations. Aboard Air Force One Sunday, Trump told reporters the US "may be having some discussions with [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro," but he did not offer specifics other than to claim that "they would like to talk."