The US military destroyed a small boat in the eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two people aboard. The strike, announced by US Southern Command on social media, marked the latest in a months-long campaign of lethal attacks on vessels that the Pentagon claims are involved in drug trafficking operations.
General Francis L Donovan directed Joint Task Force Southern Spear, the military's counter-narcotics unit operating in the region, to carry out the attack. The command posted an unclassified video showing the vessel engulfed in flames as it sank.
The two deaths bring the total killed in the campaign to at least 178 since September. The strikes have targeted boats across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with Southern Command releasing a steady stream of social media announcements accompanied by low-resolution footage of explosions.
The campaign has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts, human rights groups, and international officials. The Trump administration has defended the strikes as lawful acts of war against drug cartels, arguing they are necessary to stem overdose deaths and drug trafficking into the United States.
"What we're doing is actually an act of kindness," Trump said previously regarding the military operations.
However, civil rights advocates and UN officials have challenged the legality of the attacks. Families of two men from Trinidad who were killed in a strike filed a lawsuit against the US government. The American Civil Liberties Union's Human Rights Program director Jamil Dakwar announced plans to pursue accountability through multiple channels, including requesting an investigation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
"We are doing everything in our power to hold the Trump administration responsible for its egregious violations of both US and international law," Dakwar said in a statement.
A critical gap remains in the public record. The military has provided no detailed evidence establishing that the targeted vessels were actually involved in drug trafficking operations, raising questions about the basis for lethal strikes that have killed nearly 180 people.
Author James Rodriguez: "The administration is operating with minimal transparency while facing serious legal challenges, and the court filings and international pressure suggest this campaign may face real consequences."
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