The US military said in an initial statement that three people survived the attack, but only one was ultimately recovered alive.
Published March 20, 2026
The US military says it has attacked another drug-trafficking ship in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
However, the US military initially said on Friday that three people survived the airstrike, but the Coast Guard later issued a statement saying two survivors were found dead. Only one person was recovered alive.
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The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America, said in a social media post that the attack took place the day before.
“Intelligence officials have confirmed that this unremarkable vessel was sailing along known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and engaged in drug trafficking operations,” the post claims, without providing further details.
“Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue systems for survivors.”
An attached black-and-white video shows the small boat being bombed and set ablaze.
Reuters reported that the bodies of the survivors and those who died were transferred to the Costa Rican Coast Guard.
The strike is the latest in a series of deadly operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking ships off the coast of Latin America.
The operation, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, has killed at least 159 people in 46 separate incidents, according to a government statement about the attack.
The attack began on September 2, 2025, but it is unusual for the US government to announce any survivors.
Apart from today, there are only two known survivors, who arrived on October 16, more than a month after the bombing campaign. The men who survived the attack were repatriated to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador, where they were released without charge.
President Donald Trump’s administration says the deadly attack was aimed at stopping drug trafficking.
However, international legal scholars have condemned these acts of extrajudicial killings and warned that those involved may face prosecution.
In December, the Trump administration came under intense criticism after it was revealed that two survivors of the first boat attack on September 2 were left dead in the Double Tap attack.
Democrats are calling for the release of footage of the Double Tap attack that shows survivors clinging to floating debris after the first attack. But the Trump administration has so far refused to do so.
It has also not provided any public evidence to justify the attack, nor has it identified the people killed.
Some families in Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago say the victims were fishermen or undocumented workers who had crossed the Caribbean in search of work.
