Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said two small boats were hit Saturday in the eastern Pacific, and it posted aerial video that showed each vessel erupting in a blast.
- The command reported five people dead and one survivor, and the U.S. Coast Guard said it is coordinating a search-and-rescue effort.
- Public tallies now show at least 168 people killed and about 50 boats destroyed since the strikes began in September under Joint Task Force Southern Spear.
- Officials say the targeted boats were run by designated terrorist organizations on known smuggling routes, though they have not released public evidence that the vessels carried drugs.
- The White House told Congress it treats the effort as a non‑international armed conflict and labels those killed unlawful combatants, a stance human rights groups and U.N. experts challenge as unlawful extrajudicial killing.