US military strike on vessel in eastern Pacific kills two people, leaving one survivor | US military
A ship was struck in the eastern Pacific, the US military said Friday, leaving two people dead and one survivor in the latest attack on boats suspected of carrying narcotics. This brings the death toll in attacks on such ships in the Caribbean and Pacific since September to more than 190 people.
A. video In the images released by the US Southern Command, it appears that the ship moving through the water was hit by something resembling a missile. The screen goes black for a moment and then shows the boat engulfed in flames.
Southern Command said that “the ship transited known drug smuggling routes” and was “involved in drug smuggling operations.” It was stated that the two people killed were men and the US Coast Guard was informed to initiate a search and rescue operation for the sole survivor. No further details were disclosed.
The military has attacked several alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Eastern Pacific in recent weeks, including an attack on Tuesday that left three people dead. According to a tally according to The InterceptIt represents 193 deaths and 4 survivors in 58 such boat attacks since September.
The legality of these boat attacks is being examined, and legal experts say the attacks amount to unlawful extrajudicial killings carried out by the Pentagon with no accountability. Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, condemned the strikes.
The Pentagon framed its operations in the region as a campaign against “narco-terrorism” but provided little evidence of coordinated drug trafficking rings.
