Overview
- SOUTHCOM reported that on Sunday its forces struck a vessel in the Caribbean, killing two people and leaving six survivors who were reported to the U.S. Coast Guard for search-and-rescue.
- The operation was executed by Joint Task Force Southern Spear at the direction of SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan and occurred in international waters.
- SOUTHCOM said intelligence showed the boat was transiting known narcotrafficking routes and described the target as operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.
- No U.S. military personnel were reported injured in the action and the command publicly posted details and images of the strike on its channels.
- The strike is the latest in a months-long SOUTHCOM maritime campaign that media tallies, based on SOUTHCOM data, put at dozens of attacks and more than 200 deaths, raising questions about humanitarian outcomes and regional security.