Washington DC - The US military, led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, on Saturday announced it had killed four people on a boat it claimed was involved in drug smuggling in the Caribbean.
"Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking," US South Command (SOUTHCOM) announced in a statement on X. "The operation killed four narco-terrorists."
The post came alongside a grainy video showing the moment a US missile struck the boat, causing a massive explosion and fireball to spout into the air.
The US military continued its strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Atlantic in early September.
It's part of an ongoing operation, dubbed "Southern Spear," designed to target and eliminate transnational drug cartels – especially those operating via maritime networks.
President Donald Trump justified the deadly military operation by claiming that Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America.
Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to a tally by AFP.
Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking. Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.
"On September 19, under the direction of [SOUTHCOM], Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal, kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean," SOUTHCOM said in a statement.