US strikes another alleged drug boat bringing death toll from campaign in Latin America to 70 | US military
US forces shot down another drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s controversial campaign to at least 70.
The United States began carrying out such attacks in early September, targeting ships in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, which some experts say amount to extrajudicial killings, even if they target known smugglers.
US strikes have destroyed at least 18 ships (17 boats and one semi-submarine) so far; but Washington has yet to provide concrete evidence that its targets are involved in drug trafficking or pose a threat to the United States.
Hegseth released footage of X of the latest attack, which he said, like previous attacks, took place in international waters and targeted “a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
He said no US forces were harmed in the operation.
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: If you want to survive, stop drug trafficking. If you continue deadly drug trafficking, we will kill you,” he wrote.
As in some previous videos released by the US government, part of the boat appears to be obscured for unclear reasons.
President Donald Trump’s administration has built significant leverage in Latin America with its campaign to eliminate drug trafficking.
It has so far deployed six Navy ships to the Caribbean, sent F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico, and ordered the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier strike group to be sent to the region.
On Thursday, the US Senate blocked a Democratic war powers resolution that would have forced Donald Trump to seek Congressional approval to launch an attack on Venezuela, allowing the president’s ability to expand his military campaign against the country to remain unchecked.
The administration has developed a range of options for military action in Venezuela, and Trump aides have asked the justice department for additional guidance that could provide a legal basis for striking targets other than boats, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The governments and families of those who died in the US attacks on drug boats said that most of the dead were civilians, especially fishermen.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly accused Trump of trying to overthrow him.
US bombers have also staged shows of force near Venezuela at least four times since mid-October, flying over the Caribbean Sea off the country’s coast.
Maduro, who is indicted on drug charges in the United States, insists there is no drug cultivation in his country and says it is being used as a smuggling route for Colombian cocaine against his will.
The Trump administration said in a memorandum to Congress that the United States had engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, describing them as terrorist groups as part of justification for the attacks.
With Agence France-Presse
