U.S. military forces attacked a vessel Wednesday in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men the Pentagon said were drug traffickers, the Southern Command reported. No U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation, the command said.
Ongoing Military Campaign
These operations are part of a military campaign against drug trafficking organizations that has killed at least 178 people since early September 2025. The campaign continued through a January 2026 operation in which U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Military Characterization
The Southern Command characterized the attack as a “lethal kinetic attack against a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization,” according to a social media post. The command said the vessel was transiting “known drug trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific.”
Unanswered Questions
The announcement did not identify the organization, the three men killed, or provide a specific location for the strike. The Southern Command also offered no evidence of the men’s links to drug trafficking.