WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. military conducted another boat strike on Monday against alleged drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person.
“On Dec. 22, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” U.S Southern Command wrote in an update on X.
Officials said, “Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
A video shared by U.S. Southern Command shows strikes splashing the water next to the boat and a second strike hitting the back, causing it to catch fire. A second video shows the boat floating with a large patch of fire beside it.
President Donald Trump has said the strikes are meant to stop the flow of drugs into the U.S. and increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The last strike happened on Friday, killing five more alleged narco-terrorists. At least 105 people have been killed in 29 known strikes since early September.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue to scrutinize the strikes, saying the administration has offered scant evidence that its targets are indeed drug smugglers.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has stepped up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of Trump’s pressure campaign against Maduro.
Trump on Monday announced the construction of what he is dubbing the “Golden Fleet” for the United States Navy.
“Some of the ships are old and obsolete; we’re excited to go in the opposite direction,” Trump said.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
The president told reporters from his home in Florida, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, the ships will be built in the U.S and armed with guns, missiles and the “most sophisticated laser in the world.”
National Headline
