US Military Reports 11 Killed in Latest Anti-Drug Boat Strikes
American forces have launched assaults on three alleged drug-smuggling boats, resulting in 11 fatalities, according to US military officials. This marks one of the deadliest days in the Trump administration's months-long campaign against alleged traffickers, with the military action on Monday bringing the total number of fatalities caused by US strikes to 145 since September.
Details of the Strikes and Video Evidence
US Southern Command posted video to social media showing this week's strikes, which targeted vessels in notorious drug trafficking routes such as the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Officials stated that four men were killed on one boat in the eastern Pacific, four on another vessel in the same region, and three on a vessel in the Caribbean. Authorities insisted the boats were transporting drug-transporting criminals, but the video does not appear to provide information confirming this claim.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations," US Southern Command said. They added that no US military forces were harmed during the operations.
Legal Concerns and Broader Context
Many have questioned the legality of the US boat strike initiative, with some legal experts arguing the attacks are tantamount to extrajudicial military killings without an imminent threat of violence. A recent analysis by the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy organization, noted that "those being killed by US military strikes at sea are denied any due process whatsoever." The office further stated that Trump's administration is "asserting and exercising an apparently unlimited license to kill people that the president deems to be terrorists."
The recent spate of strikes comes weeks after US forces attacked Caracas, capturing Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to face trial in New York on drugs, weapons, and narco-terrorism charges. While the Trump administration has portrayed boat strikes and Maduro's capture as part of a fight against narco-terrorism, there has not been abundant evidence of trafficking rings.
Military Deployment and Strategic Shifts
According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon had deployed more than one dozen warships to waters near Venezuela to block drug trafficking and the illegal oil trade. Several of those ships have since been dispatched eastward amid Trump's military threats to Iran over its nuclear weapons program, indicating a strategic shift in focus.
This latest incident underscores the ongoing and intensifying efforts by the US military under the Trump administration to combat alleged drug trafficking through aggressive measures, despite mounting legal and ethical concerns.
