The U.S. military killed two alleged narco-terrorists in another strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Southern Command said Wednesday’s lethal strike was on a boat operated by a designated terrorist organization, but did not specify which group.
The command added that intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and was engaged in drug operations.
This operation came one day after another alleged drug boat was blown up. One suspected narco-terrorist was killed in that strike, with two surviving. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue for them.
Since September’s first operation, the U.S. military has carried out over 60 strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific against alleged drug boats, killing almost 200 people who it says were affiliated with drug organizations. The first strike took out a boat that left Venezuela and was headed for Trinidad and Tobago, killing 11.
The strikes have drawn cheers from pro-Trump Americans and dissent from skeptical members of Congress questioning their legality.
Human Rights Watch and some legal scholars call the actions unlawful. Critics point out that lethal force against civilians — regardless of suspected criminal activity — is prohibited unless they pose an imminent violent threat. Some former International Criminal Court prosecutors have gone as far as calling the operations systematic extrajudicial killings.
Lawmakers have specifically scrutinized “double-tap” strikes, raising concerns that targeting survivors clinging to wreckage could violate the laws of war. One follow-up strike killed two people who had survived the initial blast.
The Pentagon’s internal watchdog recently said it will determine whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework — military commander intent, target development, analysis, decision, execution and assessment — when carrying out its attacks.
Its review will not assess the legality of the strikes, however.
The Trump administration has asserted that its operations are combating the flow of drugs into the U.S., declaring that the country is in an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels.
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