The United States says two people were killed in a strike on a ship in the Pacific Ocean, continuing an operation condemned as illegal.
Published February 6, 2026
The US military says two people were killed in recent attacks on ships in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
“Two narco-terrorists were killed during this operation,” the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America, said Thursday.
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Southcom did not provide any evidence to support its claims that the vessel and the two victims were involved in drug trafficking.
U.S. attacks on ships in the Pacific and Caribbean have killed 126 people in at least 34 attacks since the first recorded incident in September 2025, according to watchdog group Air Wars, and have been widely condemned as illegal under international law.
The latest killing brings the death toll to at least 128.
The Trump administration has defended the airstrikes by likening drug trafficking to an armed attack on the United States and by designating numerous criminal groups involved in drug trafficking as “terrorist” organizations.
International legal scholars, rights activists and regional leaders rejected the US claims, warning that the airstrikes amounted to extrajudicial killings and that there was no state of armed conflict that would justify such an operation. Approximately 38 ships were attacked in 36 attacks by the US military.
“There is no authority under international law to use military force on the high seas to kill suspected drug traffickers or drug organizations,” Ben Sole, the UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and protection of rights, previously said.
Southcom’s last attack on a ship was on January 23, killing at least two people.
Of the 126 people confirmed killed by the military, 116 were believed to have died instantly and 10 were not found after the airstrike and are believed to have died.
The family of a Colombian man killed in one such strike denied involvement in any criminal activity, saying he was a fisherman working to support his family.
Alejandro Carranza’s family has filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), but advocacy groups say it will be difficult to hold U.S. officials accountable.
Trump administration officials have come under scrutiny for reports that the initial attack in September included follow-up attacks that killed a survivor clinging to the wreckage of the boat. News agency CNN reported that the ship was sailing to meet up with a ship bound for Suriname, not the United States.
