US strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5, leave 1 survivor

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The U.S. military said it destroyed two boats accused of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Saturday, killing a total of five people and leaving one survivor. In a statement carried by the Associated Press, U.S. Southern Command said the action was conducted as part of the administration’s broader effort against alleged traffickers in Latin America.

AP reported that U.S. Southern Command has said it targeted suspected traffickers along known smuggling routes, but that the military did not provide evidence to back up claims that the targeted vessels were carrying drugs. The AP report also said videos posted on X showed small boats moving across the water before they were engulfed in explosions.

The AP report said U.S. Southern Command stated on X that it notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the search-and-rescue system for the survivor. The Coast Guard confirmed it was coordinating the search and said it would provide updates when available.

The strikes come as the Trump administration pursues a campaign that it has described as targeting “narcoterrorists” beginning in early September, according to AP. AP reported that the Saturday attacks raised the number of people killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to at least 168 since that start date.

AP said the administration’s public justification for the boat strikes has included President Donald Trump’s characterization of the U.S. as being in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America. AP also reported that the president and administration have argued that escalation is necessary to stem drug flows into the United States, including overdoses that have claimed American lives.

Critics, AP reported, have questioned both the legality of the boat strikes and their effectiveness. AP pointed to a broader criticism that fentanyl used in many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked into the U.S. over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.

AP also described the boat strikes continuing in Latin America while the U.S. military focused on operations in the Middle East. The AP report said the U.S. had been engaged in a war with Iran for several weeks.

On Sunday, AP reported that Trump said the U.S. would begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. AP said Trump wants to weaken Iran’s key leverage in the war and cited a demand that Iran reopen the waterway, through which 20% of global oil normally passes.

U.S. Central Command said, according to AP, that the blockade would involve Iranian ports, tying the announcement to the broader military posture described in the administration’s statements.