Three people killed in latest lethal US strike in Eastern Pacific

US forces on Friday launched a strike against another boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing three people, the military said.

A screenshot from a video posted on X by US Southern Command shows a boat in the Eastern Pacific shortly before it was blown up by American forces.
A screenshot from a video posted on X by US Southern Command shows a boat in the Eastern Pacific shortly before it was blown up by American forces.  © Screenshot/X/@Southcom

"Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" along an apparent narco-trafficking route, the US Southern Command posted on X, adding that "three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action."

The post included black and white video of the strike that showed an aerial view of a boat before it is bombed and engulfed in flames.

The US began targeting boats it accuses of drug smuggling in early September, killing nearly 150 people in total and destroying dozens of vessels since then.

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Under President Donald Trump, the US has routinely conducted these strikes without offering definitive evidence of illegal activity, leading legal experts to raise concerns that the deaths could be considered extra-judicial killings.

It has also stationed naval forces off the coast of South America, seized oil tankers, and carried out a stunning raid to abduct Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro is incarcerated in the US awaiting trial for drug and weapons charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Cover photo: Screenshot/X/@Southcom

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