The American military carried out an air strike Thursday on a drug boat in the Pacific. U.S. Southern Command announced the results of the attack on social media, adding that the strike killed four men and destroyed the vessel.
The Trump administration has made destroying drug transportation networks in the western hemisphere a priority, including by destroying boats that U.S. intelligence has determined are involved in narcotrafficking. Most of the attacks have taken place in the waters off the coast of Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s campaign to pressure the government of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro has denounced the buildup of American military assets in the region as preparation for an American military intervention in the country.
The administration’s choice to counter drug boats with lethal force is a deviation from normal U.S. anti-narcotics operations, which have traditionally employed non-lethal interdiction methods. The latest strike comes shortly after a major controversy in Washington erupted over the legality of the administration’s attacks on such small craft. The Washington Post revealed last week that the U.S. used a second airstrike to kill the survivors of a drug boat destroyed by American munitions in early September, prompting accusations from Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated the laws of war.
