The United States strikes three more suspected drug boats, killing eight

The United States Southern Command announced early Tuesday morning that it had carried out attacks against three vessels in international waters, resulting in the deaths of eight people. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking,” the military stated in a post on the social media platform X, which included a video of the operation ordered by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The United States has bombed at least 26 suspected drug boats in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, near Venezuela, as part of a military campaign launched by U.S. President Donald Trump against drug trafficking from the region. At least 90 people have been killed in these attacks in international waters.

The use of the armed forces — with a massive deployment in the Caribbean that includes the U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford — to strike boats suspected of drug trafficking represents a radical departure from the way the United States has historically operated. The Trump administration has sought to defend the legality of the attacks, which legal experts say amount to illegal extrajudicial killings. The controversy surrounding these actions has also reached Congress, where Admiral Frank Bradley — who is in charge of Caribbean operations — was called to testify after Hegseth was accused of ordering a second strike to finish off two survivors on a suspected drug-trafficking boat. Bradley denied that the secretary of defense gave such an order.

“Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters earlier this month.

Trump himself has insisted that counter-narcotics operations are a matter of national security. He has also repeatedly threatened that they will “soon” move into a second phase involving ground attacks against Venezuela. Washington has targeted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom it accuses of allegedly leading the Cartel of the Suns, an organization the State Department has listed as a terrorist group, which allows it to impose further sanctions on the Chavista regime.

Despite the pressure, Trump has so far stopped short of a ground intervention in Venezuela and recently spoke with Maduro by phone. He declined to disclose details, while the Venezuelan leader said the exchange was conducted in a “respectful and cordial” tone.

The operation revealed on Monday took place near Colombia. Trump has also accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an “illegal drug dealer.” In fact, last week Trump said Petro was “next,” referring to the pressure strategy he is pursuing against Venezuelan President Maduro.

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