The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced it struck an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing 6 men, as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Southern Spear” against “narco-terrorists.”
In an X post, SOUTHCOM wrote that "intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."
The post contained an 11-second unclassified video of the strike on the boat.
SOUTHCOM informed that the kinetic strike, ordered by Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of SOUTHCOM, targeted a vessel operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations.”
The military did not provide proof that the vessel was trafficking drugs.
“Six male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” the post added.
The U.S. has performed more than 40 known strikes along the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since September, killing at least 157 people.
Prior to this strike, the most recent one on Feb. 23, killed three people.
President Donald Trump has stated that the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America, justifying the military campaign as a necessary operation to halt the passage of drugs into the U.S.
U.S. and Ecuadorian military forces announced on Mar. 3, 2026, the launch of joint operations in the South American nation aimed at targeting “Designated Terrorist Organizations.”
President Trump additionally met with Latin American leaders on Mar. 7, 2026, encouraging them to join the U.S. in conducting joint military operations against narcotics-smuggling cartels and transnational gangs.
The boat strikes have been scrutinized over their legal justification following the first attack in the operation, in which the U.S. military killed survivors of a vessel with a subsequent strike. While the Trump administration and Republican officials have deemed it legal and necessary, Democratic lawmakers have deemed the attack a war crime.
