WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said it attacked a ship accused of drug smuggling in the Eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing five people, as the Trump administration continued its crackdown on drug smugglers in Latin America.
Read more: Fact Check US warships launch attacks in Caribbean and Pacific waters, death toll exceeds 200
The latest attack brings the number of people killed in more than 70 attacks by US military ships to at least 240. The Trump administration began targeting so-called “narco-terrorists” in September 2025.
Like most military statements about attacks in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted suspected drug traffickers on known smuggling routes and that “intelligence indicated the ship was actively involved in drug trafficking.”
The military provided no evidence that the ship was transporting drugs. A video posted on X showed a small boat in the water before being surrounded by explosions.
President Donald Trump said the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels in Latin America as he sought to justify the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States and the overdose deaths that claim American lives. But his government has provided little evidence to support its claims of killing “narco-terrorists”.
Critics question the overall legality of the boat attacks and their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is often trafficked from Mexico to the United States by land, where it is produced from chemicals imported from China and India.
The attacks have drawn close attention from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars. Pentagon regulators said in May that they planned to investigate whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework, including military commanders’ intent, goal setting and execution, when conducting lethal operations. But the review will not explore the legality of the strike.
Tuesday’s attack was one of several that came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged in September to seek approval from U.S. allies in the region for such strikes. Rubio told reporters that while the United States has “the ability to act unilaterally,” it would rather work with allies because it is “the most effective way.”
Rubio’s announcement in Peru last month appeared to signal a shift in strategy. However, Rubio also said that the US military “will still blow up ships if necessary” and that this approach will be a “strike-by-strike or action-by-action decision.”
A free press is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
Support trustworthy journalism and civil dialogue.