Overview
- SOUTHCOM said three men were killed Sunday in the Eastern Pacific in a “lethal kinetic strike” on a small vessel it labeled terrorist‑operated, and it released a short aerial video of the blast.
- The command reported two deaths Friday in a separate strike, and public tallies now count at least 186 people killed and more than 50 small boats destroyed since the campaign began in September.
- Officials say targeted boats ran known smuggling routes and were run by groups the administration designated as terrorist organizations, but they have not publicly shown proof of drugs on the vessels.
- Human rights groups and U.N. experts call the actions extrajudicial killings and say the operations violate international and maritime law, while some U.S. lawmakers question due process and the risk to innocent people.
- The Coast Guard has launched but later suspended several searches for survivors in past incidents, and civil society groups report families left without answers and coastal communities finding remains and fearing the water.