Miami
US military strike in the Caribbean killed four, Southern Command says
The operation targeted a boat suspected of drug smuggling. NBC 6 South Florida reported that the Pentagon did not provide evidence the vessel was carrying drugs.
The US military struck a boat in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday that, according to Southern Command, was allegedly being used for drug smuggling. The attack killed four people, NBC 6 South Florida reported.
According to the outlet, the latest operation raises the death toll from US military boat strikes to at least 231 people in 69 attacks since the Donald Trump administration began targeting what it calls narcoterrorists nearly a year ago. Southern Command said the targets were operating along known smuggling routes in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean.
NBC 6 South Florida said the military did not release evidence showing the vessel was transporting drugs. A video posted on X showed what appeared to be a moving boat followed by a flash.
The outlet also reported that the Trump administration is seeking agreements with allied countries to expand the campaign onto land in several Latin American nations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Panama last month that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow joint US military operations against criminal groups on their territory. Guatemala denied such an agreement had been reached. Ecuador, meanwhile, launched similar missions with the US in March.
Trump has said the United States is in an armed conflict with cartels in Latin America and has defended the strikes as a necessary escalation to curb drug flows into the country and overdose deaths. But, according to NBC 6 South Florida, his administration has provided little evidence to support its claims that those killed were smugglers.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
