The latest strikes bring the death toll since September 2025 to 243 in a campaign denounced as extrajudicial killings.
Published October 27, 2026
The U.S. military says it has attacked a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing five people, continuing an operation condemned by legal scholars and rights groups as extrajudicial killings.
The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, said on Tuesday that five people were killed in the airstrike.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“On October 27, the Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force, under the direction of SOUTHCOM, conducted a lethal, kinetic attack on a high-speed vessel traveling along an established drug trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific Ocean,” it said in a social media post. “Confirmed information reveals that this ship was actively involved in drug trafficking. This operation resulted in the deaths of five narco-terrorists.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has killed at least 238 people in 68 reported airstrikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean since the campaign first began in September 2025, according to trackers from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a U.S. research group that promotes human rights and democracy.
Tuesday’s strike appears to bring the total number of people reported to 243. Southcom has often accompanied its announcements with videos of ships purportedly being attacked.
The government has provided few details supporting claims that those targeted were involved in drug trafficking, and relatives of some of those killed said they were fishermen and laborers not involved in drug trafficking.
The Trump administration has designated numerous criminal organizations in Latin America as foreign “terrorist” organizations. Legal experts reject this framework, arguing that drug trafficking is a criminal offense and military attacks are unacceptable.
“This is the sixth deadly boat strike in the past four months,” WOLA analyst Adam Isakson, who has been tracking the strike, said in a social media post in response to Southcom’s announcement on Tuesday.
“Although at a slower pace than in the past, the administration and its commanders continue to root out unlawful killings every few weeks without making a noticeable impact on the drug trade, a dark message ahead of the midterm elections.”
