WASHINGTON (TNND) — A “lethal kinetic strike” on an alleged drug boat killed two passengers and left one survivor on Monday, according to the U.S. Southern Command.
U.S. Coast Guard was activated to trigger a search and rescue for the survivor.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command wrote on the social media platform X.
The strike was conducted as part of Operation Southern Spear, the Department of War’s campaign to combat drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. Another aspect of the campaign is seizing oil tankers that defy their quarantine order on oil.
On Monday The Department of War announced U.S. military forces also “tracked and hunted” a vessel overnight after it defied a quarantine order on sanctioned ships from the Trump administration. At least seven sanctioned oil tankers were taken by U.S. forces since December as a part of Operation Southern Spear.
“When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world,” they wrote in a post on X.
The Department of War released footage of U.S. troops boarding the vessel, located in the Indian Ocean.
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