US US military conducts new attack on vessel in the Eastern Pacific
The US military has attacked at least 29 suspected drug-trafficking boats since the beginning of September, leaving 105 dead
The US military said it attacked another vessel suspected of carrying drugs in the Eastern Pacific, killing one person, as part of a months-long campaign of attacks on vessels near Latin America.
The military has attacked at least 29 suspected drug-trafficking boats since the beginning of September, killing 105 people, according to CBS News. President Trump has argued that the attacks on vessels have been effective in combating drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, but his critics have questioned the president's legal authority to carry them out.
Monday's attack targeted a vessel in international waters that was "traveling known drug trafficking routes," according to a statement from US Southern Command on X.
The military said the ship was operated by a designated terrorist organization; The organization was not specified, but the Trump administration has designated several Latin American drug cartels as terrorist groups. “On December 22, under the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike against a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” SOUTHCOM wrote on X. The military described the target of the operation as a “low-profile vessel.” Drug trafficking groups have long been accused of using low-profile submarines and semi-submersibles to transport drugs in some cases. In October, Trump announced an attack on a suspected drug-trafficking submarine in the Caribbean, which left two dead and two survivors who were repatriated to their countries of origin. The military began conducting boat attacks on September 2, as part of a broader military and anti-narcotics campaign near Latin America. The administration has justified the attacks by arguing that the United States is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with the cartels.The attacks have drawn criticism from congressional Democrats and some Republicans, who argue that the operations were not authorized by Congress and that the government has not provided sufficient evidence that the vessels were carrying drugs. The governments of Colombia and Venezuela have also criticized the attacks. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has increased pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, accusing it of collaborating with drug cartels.

