Key Points
- US Southern Command said the vessel was involved in drug trafficking
- The military did not provide evidence that the boat was carrying drugs
- The strike was part of a broader US campaign against alleged drug traffickers
WASHINGTON: The US military said Saturday that it had killed four people in a strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea that it alleged was involved in drug trafficking.
The US Southern Command, which oversees American military operations in the region, said the Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out the strike on a high-speed vessel operating along established drug-trafficking routes.
“Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking,” the command said in a statement. It described the four people killed in the operation as “narco-terrorists.”
The US military released a video showing what appeared to be a boat moving through the water before a flash.
However, it did not provide further details about the vessel, its cargo or the identities of those killed. The US statement has not publicly provided evidence that the boats targeted in many of the strikes were carrying drugs.
US Military campaign against drug trafficking
Saturday’s operation was the latest in a US campaign against alleged drug traffickers operating in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Trump administration has described the targeted groups as “narcoterrorists,” and President Donald Trump has said the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels in Latin America.
The latest strike brought the reported death toll from US boat strikes to at least 231 people in 69 operations since the campaign began about a year ago, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier, the US military had reported another strike in the Caribbean on September 9 that killed three people.
READ ALSO: US Strikes Kill 14 on Alleged Drug-Smuggling Boats in Pacific: Pentagon
The administration has argued that the operations are intended to disrupt the movement of illegal drugs into the United States and target criminal networks responsible for drug trafficking.
The campaign has also expanded beyond maritime operations. US officials have discussed joint operations with several Latin American countries against criminal groups.
However, individual governments have disputed some US statements about agreements for military action on their territory.
Ecuador began similar joint missions with US forces in March, while Guatemala has denied reaching an agreement of the kind described by US officials.
