U.S. missile strike on suspected drug boat in Eastern Pacific kills two

U.S. missile strike on suspected drug boat in Eastern Pacific kills two
U.S. Southern Command

Two men were killed after the United States carried out a missile strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday (24 April), the military said.

U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, released video showing the vessel being hit. The footage was shared on social media platform X.

The command said the boat was travelling along “known narco-trafficking routes” and was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations”.

The strike was authorised by Francis L. Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command.

It formed part of Operation Southern Spear, a campaign launched in 2025 by Donald Trump aimed at countering drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.

U.S. military strikes targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels have killed more than 170 people since September 2025.

Rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticised the operations, describing them as “unlawful extrajudicial killings” in which suspects have no opportunity to defend themselves.

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