Summary
- Latest Deadly Strike: The US military launched an attack on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of four people on board.
- Mounting Death Toll: This strike is part of an aggressive, ongoing campaign initiated in early September targeting alleged smuggling boats, which has now brought the total death toll to at least 163.
- Growing Controversy: While the Trump administration argues it is at war with “narco-terrorists,” rights groups and experts have raised alarms, citing a lack of evidence and condemning the strikes as extrajudicial killings.
THE US military launched a strike Wednesday on an alleged narco-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing four people on board, according to officials.
US Southern Command (Southcom) said in a post on X that the vessel “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
The United States began targeting alleged smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean in early September, and the latest attack brings the death toll to at least 163.
US President Donald Trump’s administration insists the country is effectively at war with what he calls “narco-terrorists” operating in Latin America.
But the Trump administration has provided little evidence that the vessels targeted are actually involved in drug trafficking. Some experts and rights groups say the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings. (AFP)
