Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said a small boat in the eastern Pacific was struck Friday, killing two people and leaving one survivor.
- Southcom released a video of the impact and said it alerted the U.S. Coast Guard to launch a search-and-rescue effort for the survivor.
- Command officials said intelligence linked the vessel to known drug routes and to groups they label terrorist organizations.
- News outlets now count deaths from similar maritime strikes since September 2025 at more than 150 to as many as 192.
- Rights groups question the legality of the killings at sea, and reports note the U.S. has not presented public proof that targeted boats carried drugs, with some coverage tying the campaign to pressure on Venezuela after Nicolás Maduro’s reported capture on January 3.