US military strikes three boats in the Pacific Ocean, kills eight

The US military has carried out strikes against three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people, according to US Southern Command.

In a post on X, SOUTHCOM said the operation took place on December 15 under the direction of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and was carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear.

“On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” SOUTHCOM wrote on X. 

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking.”

The latest incident brings the reported death toll from strikes on suspected drug boats to at least 95, as part of Operation Southern Spear, a campaign launched by the President Donald Trump administration to curb narcotics trafficking. 

US Southern Command said the military most recently struck another suspected drug boat on December 4 in the eastern Pacific, killing four people on board.

The strikes have continued to draw scrutiny as questions mount over the Trump administration’s offensive against alleged drug-trafficking vessels.

The administration has told Congress that the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, which it said began with the first strike on September 2. 

On that day, the US military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean after an initial attack failed to kill everyone on board, CNN previously reported. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts have said the incident could amount to a war crime.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that an all-senators briefing on the strikes would hold on Tuesday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth expected to attend.

“The American people deserve oversight. We intend to deliver it,” he said in a post on X.

According to two sources familiar with the plans, Rubio and Hegseth are also expected to provide a classified briefing to House lawmakers on Tuesday.

The administration has described those killed in the strikes as “unlawful combatants” and said it has the authority to carry out lethal strikes without judicial review, citing a classified Justice Department finding.

The strikes form part of a months-long pressure campaign against Venezuela, which has included the deployment of thousands of US troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, alongside repeated threats against President Nicolas Maduro.

Last week, the US announced new sanctions on shipping companies and vessels it said were involved in transporting Venezuelan oil, a day after it seized a sanctioned tanker off the country’s coast.

(CNN)

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