Southcom said it had notified the U.S. Coast Guard of “six male survivors” without providing details of the rescue.
Published June 22, 2026
The US military has announced another attack on a suspected drug-trafficking ship in the Eastern Pacific, killing at least two people.
Sunday’s attack brings the total number of ships attacked to more than 60 and killed more than 210 people since the United States launched an operation called “Southern Spear” in September.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X on Monday that the boat was traveling along a known drug smuggling route, but no evidence showed it was carrying drugs.
Southcom said it had notified the U.S. Coast Guard of “six male survivors,” without providing details of the rescue or the situation.
Grainy black and white video footage attached to the post showed a boat moving underwater being struck by a projectile and engulfed in a huge explosion.
There was a similar incident on June 16, and U.S. Central Command announced that it had notified the Coast Guard after receiving reports of two survivors. The Coast Guard then called off the search, saying there were “no signs of survivors or debris.”
President Donald Trump said the United States was in a state of “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels and insisted the strikes were necessary to curb drug overdoses in the United States. Critics have questioned the legal basis and effectiveness of the campaign, with some pointing out that most of the fentanyl that reaches the United States is smuggled overland from Mexico.
On Thursday, US lawmakers called on the Pentagon to release “unedited video” of the military’s first attack after reports emerged that the US had opted for follow-up attacks against survivors of the first attack.
Two men on the boat initially survived the attack that killed nine others, but they were clinging to the wreckage when the ship was struck again and they died. The White House acknowledged the additional attack, saying it was in “legitimate defense” to ensure the destruction of the boat and was carried out in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
But some legal scholars said that a secondary attack that kills survivors is illegal under any circumstances, regardless of whether there is an armed conflict or not.
The Pentagon’s inspector general said in May that it would review whether the military followed standard targeting procedures, but said its assessment would not examine the legality of the attack.
