Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said forces struck a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific on January 23, killing two people and leaving one survivor.
- An image and video posted by Southcom showed the targeted craft burning after the attack.
- Southcom reported notifying the U.S. Coast Guard to initiate search-and-rescue efforts for the surviving person, with no outcome disclosed.
- It is the first officially acknowledged strike on a suspected drug boat since U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
- U.S. figures cited by the military and President Trump list 36 such attacks since early September with at least 117 deaths, drawing legal criticism over alleged extrajudicial killings.