Three Killed in U.S. Strike on Pacific Drug Trafficking Vessel

(MENAFN) The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced late Sunday that a vessel tied to narcotics trafficking was destroyed in a targeted strike over the Eastern Pacific, leaving three people dead.

The operation, executed April 26 under the direct authority of SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, was confirmed via a post on X, the US-based social media platform.

SOUTHCOM said Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out a "lethal kinetic strike" against a vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations, acting on intelligence that confirmed the craft was transiting well-established narco-trafficking corridors and was actively "engaged in narco-trafficking operations."

"Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action," the command stated.

Officials confirmed that no US military personnel sustained injuries in the course of the operation.

Beyond those details, the command offered no additional information — withholding the precise strike location, the nationality or identity of those killed, and the type of vessel targeted.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration has moved to dramatically escalate military involvement in counter-narcotics operations, framing drug trafficking networks as direct national security threats and designating several cartel organizations as foreign terrorist entities — a classification that opens the door to precisely the kind of lethal force deployed Sunday.

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