The U.S. government said the attack was the latest in a series of attacks on ships operated by “narco-terrorists.”
Published June 19, 2026
The US military has attacked a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least three people.
The attack, which took place Thursday, was the latest in a series of attacks on ships close to the United States. The Trump administration has announced a crackdown on drug traffickers.
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Washington said the attack targeted a ship transporting unidentified drugs from Latin America to the United States.
U.S. Southern Command announced in a social media post that it had conducted a “lethal kinetic attack on a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization.”
“Intelligence agencies have confirmed that the vessel was sailing along known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and engaged in drug trafficking operations. During this action, three male narco-terrorists were killed,” the statement added.
An unclassified video attached to the statement appears to show the moment a speeding boat was hit by a missile and burst into flames.
At least 211 people were killed in such airstrikes in the Pacific.
US President Donald Trump has claimed his country is in an “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels and that his administration is trying to stop the flow of drugs.
However, the Trump administration has not provided concrete evidence linking all those killed in drug trafficking, and some have accused the United States of killing local fishermen, although their ties to cartels are unclear.
Critics, including U.S. politicians and human rights groups, have consistently questioned the legality of the strikes.
On Thursday, U.S. senators called on the Pentagon to release “unedited” video of the boat crash.
The first attack in September drew particular scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers after the military admitted it used a “double tap” technique that killed two survivors of the first attack. Eleven people were killed in that strike.
The Trump administration claims the pursuit was in “self-defense,” but critics say killing the survivors is illegal.
