SOUTHCOM Confirms Kinetic Vessel Strike Along Eastern Pacific

The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced it conducted a kinetic strike on a boat along the eastern Pacific, accused of trafficking drugs, killing two people in the process.

The attack, commanded by Marine Gen. Francis Donovan, deterred a vessel that was operated by a U.S.-designated terrorist group involved in transporting illicit narcotics to the U.S., according to SOUTHCOM.

“Applying total systemic friction on the cartels… Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” SOUTHCOM confirmed in a post via X.

The attack marks the second consecutive confirmation from SOUTHCOM following an announcement over the weekend that it struck two boats along the region, killing a total of five individuals and leaving one survivor.

The military campaign against suspected drug trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, known as Joint Task Southern Spear, has been ongoing for more than seven months. The operation persists even as the U.S. military has shifted its priorities towards the nearly 7-week-long conflict in Iran.

With the most recent announcement, the death toll along the eastern Pacific has increased to at least 170 people since the effort began in early Sept. 2025, with more than 50 vessels destroyed.

The Trump administration has designated major drug cartels as terrorist organizations, additionally alleging that said groups are sometimes integrated within Latin American governments.

A claim that gave the U.S. military the means to capture and depose former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in Jan. 2026, who now faces drug trafficking charges while awaiting trial in New York City.

The Trump administration has argued that newly designated drug cartels' operations in transporting potentially fatal drugs, such as fentanyl, to the U.S. are synchronous with hostile acts of war.

Amid the U.S. military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump recently warned Iran that any “fast attack vessels” attempting to approach U.S. warships will meet the same demise as the vessels that have been attacked along the eastern Pacific.