Overview
- The most recent strike occurred Thursday, June 18, when U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Southern Spear hit a fast boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing three people and releasing a short video that did not show narcotics aboard.
- The attack is one of dozens of strikes the administration began on Sept. 2, 2025, and brings publicly reported deaths in the campaign to about 211 with dozens of vessels destroyed and multiple survivors recovered or searched for by the Coast Guard.
- The White House has told Congress it views the operations as part of an "armed conflict" with designated cartel and gang groups and says a classified Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion permits lethal strikes without normal criminal process.
- Oversight measures have stepped up with the Pentagon inspector general opening a review of targeting procedures and the Senate Armed Services Committee advancing a defense bill that would compel the Defense Department to provide unedited strike videos and supporting materials.
- Human rights groups, U.N. experts and some lawmakers call the strikes unlawful and warn of diplomatic and legal fallout, while analysts question whether maritime strikes affect U.S. fentanyl and cocaine flows that largely move by land and container routes.