The Pentagon has released video showing U.S. military strikes on three vessels in the eastern Pacific that Washington says were involved in narcotics trafficking, operations that U.S. Southern Command said killed eight people on Monday (15 December).
"Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking," the military said in a post on X.
According to the U.S. military, intelligence assessments concluded that the vessels were travelling along established narcotics trafficking routes and were actively engaged in drug smuggling. The military said the operation resulted in the deaths of eight men.
The strikes form part of a wider U.S. campaign against maritime drug trafficking launched under President Donald Trump. U.S. officials say more than 20 vessels have been targeted across the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, including areas near Venezuela.
U.S. authorities estimate that at least 90 suspected drug smugglers have been killed since the campaign began. Washington argues the operations are lawful and aimed at disrupting transnational criminal networks that move drugs by sea toward North America.
The use of military force against suspected drug trafficking vessels represents a significant shift from previous U.S. approaches, which have typically relied on law enforcement interdictions and arrests.
Some legal experts have questioned the strikes, arguing that they could constitute unlawful extrajudicial killings under international law, a claim the Trump administration has rejected.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrai...
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the ...
Indonesian rescuers are searching for 130 people after a passenger ship carrying 243 people sank in the Java Sea following bad weather, while 113 p...
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by a drone attack, with Riyadh and Baghdad saying the strike originated from Iraq.
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), adding to concerns about energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline on Saturday.
Mexico and the U.S. are racing to secure a trade deal before the U.S. midterm elections in less than eight weeks, according to six sources familiar with the talks, with failed negotiations between Washington and Canada adding urgency.
Dubai’s property market has spent years climbing. Now, for the first time since 2021, prices are moving in the opposite direction.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrainian Railways said that the country's railways were facing systematic attacks for a second day and warned of widespread delays.
Indonesian rescuers are searching for 130 people after a passenger ship carrying 243 people sank in the Java Sea following bad weather, while 113 people have been evacuated and six have died, the country’s search and rescue agency said on Sunday.
China will lead the creation of an open source platform among BRICS members to promote cooperation on large language models, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.
Swedes vote in an election on Sunday (13 September) that could see the far-right enter government for the first time if the country's right-wing parties can form a majority.
Philippine rescuers recovered 41 more charred remains from a ferry fire on Saturday (12 September), taking the death toll to 76, while 13 people remained unaccounted for as forensic teams worked to identify the victims.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment