Three families, two bombings, and a hidden war: Uncovering the lives of the people behind the deaths of Operation Southern Spear.
Since September 2025, the U.S. military has conducted more than 60 airstrikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing more than 220 people.
In a military operation called Operation Southern Spear, President Donald Trump’s administration claims to be waging war against “narcoterrorism.” But the government has released little information about who was killed, the evidence against them, or how the targets were chosen.
In Killing at Sea, Fault Lines examines the government’s claims about Operation Southern Spear by uncovering the stories of those targeted and uncovering the evidence used to justify deadly military force.
Through the story of a family left behind in search of answers, along with eyewitness testimony, physical evidence, and interviews with legal experts, Fault Line asks whether the strike was legal, whether it disrupted the drug trade, and what responsibility lies with those killed.
From Caribbean fishing villages to Washington, D.C., Killing at Sea examines military operations conducted mostly out of public view and asks who is being killed in America’s new maritime wars and why.
Published September 2, 2026
