Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said it carried out a lethal strike on a vessel in the Caribbean that killed three men it labeled as drug terrorists.
- The command said intelligence indicated the ship was using known trafficking routes and was involved in drug smuggling.
- U.S. Army representatives told AFP there have been at least six such operations in April, with reported deaths from the campaign now at least 180.
- Rights groups and legal observers say the U.S. has not provided public proof that those killed were smugglers and describe the strikes as extrajudicial and potentially unlawful.
- Since September last year, the U.S. has attacked dozens of suspect vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific under President Donald Trump’s “narco-terrorist” framing and a declared armed conflict with Latin American cartels.