U.S. Military Strike on a Suspected Drug Boat in the Eastern Pacific Kills Five, SOUTHCOM Says; Campaign Toll Passes 240
Southern Command released video of a go-fast boat erupting in a fireball. Scrutiny continues because the military has generally not named those killed or shown that the boats carried drugs.
The U.S. military carried out another lethal strike on a suspected cartel vessel Tuesday, Fox News reports.
The strike. U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere "executed a lethal, kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific" on Oct. 27. SOUTHCOM said "confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking" and that five people it called narco-terrorists were killed. It did not say where in the eastern Pacific the strike took place. Video released by SOUTHCOM shows the vessel erupting in a fireball.
The campaign so far. The Associated Press counts at least 240 deaths from more than 70 strikes in the Trump administration's monthslong campaign against suspected cartel boats.
The criticism. Fox notes that the military has generally not identified those killed or provided evidence that the boats were carrying narcotics. Lawmakers, legal experts and human rights groups have questioned the legal basis for lethal force against suspected traffickers outside a traditional battlefield.
Partners. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the U.S. is increasingly seeking to work with regional allies on counter-narcotics operations, in line with their laws. He said the U.S. has "the capacity to act unilaterally" but prefers cooperation as "the most effective way to do it," and that the military would "still blow up ships if need be," decided "strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation." SOUTHCOM has also released videos of crews intercepting and boarding suspected drug vessels, removing the crews and sinking the boats.
Note for readers: the narco-trafficking claim comes from SOUTHCOM's statement. No independent confirmation of the cargo or the identities of the five was reported. The strike toll is the AP's count as cited by Fox.