The U.S. military announced on Friday that it had conducted a lethal strike on a vessel suspected of engaging in drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This action marks the first known attack following the recent operation that apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
According to U.S. Southern Command, the targeted boat was involved in narco-trafficking activities, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and one survivor. The command informed the U.S. Coast Guard to initiate search and rescue efforts for the surviving individual.
A video shared with the announcement depicted the boat navigating through the water before erupting into flames.
Recent military operations have been primarily focused on intercepting sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela since the Trump administration’s bold mission to seize Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking accusations.
Since early September, there have been a total of 36 documented strikes against alleged drug smuggling vessels in South American waters, causing the deaths of at least 117 individuals, as confirmed by U.S. military reports. The majority of these strikes took place in the Caribbean Sea.
The most recent boat strikes occurred in late December when the military targeted five suspected drug-smuggling boats over a span of two days, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals, with others fleeing overboard. Subsequently, the Coast Guard halted its search operations.
On January 3, a significant strike was carried out in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, leading to the capture of Maduro and his spouse, who were then transported to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Prior to his apprehension, Maduro denounced the U.S. military operations as an attempt to forcibly remove him from power.
President Donald Trump has consistently highlighted the effectiveness of U.S. strikes against alleged smugglers in disrupting drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific regions. Trump stated during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that these operations have almost entirely halted drug shipments by sea.